Catalyst
by Aristomacho
Summary: Times are changing. No longer are Pokemon used by trainers to battle. The trainers themselves fight by extracting SPP or "moves" from their Pokemon. Team Pneuma has taken over a quarter of the world by utilizing the SPP system. A young boy gets involved by circumstance when he meets a Pokemon that once belonged to a legendary trainer. Rated T for violence, language, and some blood.
1. Prologue

My new story and something I just don't understand myself. It will be quite different from what most may know Pokemon for, but let's just see what happens. Enjoy!

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***Prologue: Indigo Plateau***

_Why? Why is this happening to me? Why is this happening to us? What have we done to deserve this?_

Colors of red and orange emerged from the crumbling buildings of what was formerly known as the Pokemon League. The fires continued to grow, the distant sounds of explosions and falling debris resonated throughout the entire premises. Bodies and corpses of people and Pokemon alike were strewn across the destruction; some were burning into eternal darkness, others, spewing blood while unmoving. Among them, a man in a black cape begins to stir.

_Huh…what, happened? _He thought and looked around. Immediately, a wave of panic shot through him. _No…no, no, no, no, no!_ He felt pain near his abdomen area and clutched it. His hands grew wet with a red fluid, which was slowly leaving his body as it stained the black clothing he wore. His spiky red hair flowed in the wind as he looked up into the blood-red sky, now covered with black clouds of smoke.

_Lorelei, Bruno, Agatha…Will, Koga, and…Karen, _The last name that came into his head caused him to burst into tears. _Why? Why wasn't I strong enough to protect them…protect, Karen…_ He dragged his body towards the mass of unmoving Pokemon in order to search for his own. There was blood stained all over the dead bodies of Hitmonchan, Golbat, Exeggutor, and Houndoom. Some had their eyes open and anyone could tell that there was the look of fear in them, before they died.

"Dragonite…where are you?" the man sifted through the dead Pokemon in hopes of finding the one he raised ever since he was a child. After for what seemed like many years, he located a yellow body with wings underneath. With all his strength, he pulled on its short arms and managed to drag it out. It was still breathing.

The man was crying in relief, "Dragonite, thank goodness you're alive…but you're hurt badly." As he noticed the bruises and blood flowing from all over the dragon's body. It grunted as it tried to come closer to its trainer, its best friend. "Don't push yourself too hard."

It looked into his eyes, there was fear but relief as it saw that its master was safe and sound, but their reunion was cut short when a loud noise erupted from behind them. Both the man and his Dragonite turned their heads, he gasped.

Standing just about a couple feet from the two was a man. He wore chrome-silver armor with a mask in the shape of a Pokemon of some sorts. He sported a black cape and spiked leg armor that appeared to be claws at the feet. There was blood stained all over him. His voice was deep and calm, "A survivor, how unfortunate."

The red haired man hugged his Pokemon, trying to protect it, "Please, I beg of you." He cried, "Do anything to me, just leave my Dragonite alone!" The Pokemon, noticing its master's resolve, licked his face in gratitude.

"I'm afraid we can't do that Lance," the armored man replied. "It has little usefulness to us, now that it has used up all of its SPP. All there is left to do is to dispose the both of you." As he said this, he reached down to his belt. The leather belt was adorned with three orbs that appeared to be Poke-Balls, but were silver in color with a black button. He detached one and threw it into the air. As what all Poke-Balls do, it opened up and released a light that materialized on the ground. Once the light subsided, a Tyranitar stood in the light's place.

Lance's eyes widened with fear, "No! Please leave my Pokemon alone, please!" He grasped his Dragonite tighter and it groaned in response. All he could do was sit there. He couldn't move and he could fight back; it was only a matter of time before they were both killed.

The armored man sighed, "Let's just end this quickly so you can rest in peace." As he said this, he pushed a button on his right glove, causing it to light up with a red aura. He then walked over to his Tyranitar placed it on its shoulder, "Extract." The Pokemon roared as light emitted from its entire body and appeared to be transferring over to the man's glove. After it was done, the Pokemon fell down with a crash and did not move.

Lance could not believe what he just saw, "You monster! Pokemon should not be used as weapon catalysts!" His anger towards this man only grew when the man responded with a sinister chuckle.

"Lance, this is the future!" he raised the now-glowing glove. "You dwell too much in the past and now look at was happened, the once well-respected Indigo Plateau has fallen, and you as well." With that, he directed his hand at Lance, "Goodbye…Hyper Beam!" The glove's light grew larger and larger until it released a beam of powerful light that was on its way towards Lance and Dragonite, but they would not go down without a fight.

"Dragonite, use your own Hyper Beam!" The Pokemon mustered up what remaining power it had left and shot forth the same colored energy beam. The two blasts connected and were locked in combat as light engulfed the entire area. _This is my last chance everyone, you will not have died in vain! _But his eyes widened in shock as the man balled up his other hand into a fist.

"Impressive. You don't have any strength left, but still fight. However, you will not succeed. This fight is over," the man slammed his fist down onto the ground, "Earthquake!" At first, nothing seemed to happen besides the sound of the two Hyper Beams pushing each other, but suddenly the ground beneath began to shake violently.

Lance tried to maintain his balance, but could not do so as the earth below him was moving at an uncontrollable rate. The Dragonite, not being able to focus its attack on the man was pushed by the earth attack and his beam shifted off course towards a different direction. The opposing blast, now free to extend, went full force. There was a loud explosion as smoke and flames covered the field. When everything subsided, there was nothing left of the dragon tamer and his partner.

The man deactivated his glove, "What a waste of Pokemon," he muttered as he turned on his communicator device. The device lit up and sprouted out a touch screen with live video coming from the screen. There was another man that appeared from the video, "Mission accomplished, the Kanto and Johto region's Elite Four has been decimated."

"Great work general. You are surely bringing glory to the Team Pneuma name," said the man onscreen. "Return to base so we can discuss our next attack on the Hoenn region. Come back safely." With that, the screen turned off and the lights returned back to the device. The armored man glanced around the destroyed ruins of what was once the Indigo Plateau and frowned, _I could never make it past the third member as a trainer…but with the SPP extraction system, I defeated the Champion in one blow, I can do anything._

He detached another silver ball to release another Pokemon, this time, he had sent out a Skarmory. The armored man activated the glove device, and then extracted ability from the silver bird creature. _Three moves left, it will survive for now. _He raised his arm, "Fly!" he shouted and the glove device began to glow and he was airborne, the Skarmory followed suit.

***End of Prologue***

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I don't know if that made any sense to you guys, but hopefully you got the gist of it. The idea for this story has been floating around my head for a couple weeks, so I decided to write it up.

I hope you guys enjoyed this and if you have anything you would like to say, please comment on it, I would greatly appreciate the positive and negative (improvement) feedback!

The next chapter is when I'll introduce our protagonist and a few OC's! Until then, take it easy!


	2. Contact

Hey everyone, and welcome to the second chapter of Catalyst! I've been working very hard to whip this one up because this type of setting and plot is difficult to write for me, so I hope you'll enjoy!

I would like to thank these people for being my first supporters: **Fenikkusumaru, KawairashiiGriffin, Emerald Dynamo, lyokolife6, WolfSummoner93, and MyPetRhinoceros **and their awesome OC's!

**Disclaimer: I do not take credit for any characters, locations, and Pokemon, except for the places and characters I created.**

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***Chapter 1: Contact***

_Denoval City_ is a metropolis and one of the largest locations in the Kansai region, even greater than Castelia City. Hundreds of thousands of people roamed the streets and escalators, some going in and out of colorful stores made of lights, while others chatted, creating an atmosphere that never stayed quiet. Billboards strewn with bulbs flashed brightly the images of a Pikachu on top of impressive looking skyscrapers. But the most looming and largest complex within the city was the Denoval City Hall, or otherwise known as Team Pneuma's operations center.

To the people, Team Pneuma was nothing more than an interest group that wants to express the power of humans through Pokemon. It was unknown if they supported battles or not, but their efforts seemed to have reached the city's mayor, who has allowed them to reside in his hall. Their ads focused on unleashing the "human potential and only Pokemon can help us do that." Strangely, there would always be helicopters landing on the roof every once in a while.

_Pika… _A small yellow creature appeared out of an alleyway on the deserted part of the city. The yellow rodent was bruised and bloodstained, but had enough strength to move. It scanned the area around to make sure the pursuers weren't around and quickly made a dash across the abandoned road. However; the attempt caught the attention of the hunters and they immediately chased after it.

The two hunters were clad in chrome-silver armor and had helmets the shape of Pokemon heads. They wore iron boots and sported a short red cape with a PN logo initialed in black lettering. Two floating bats with now eyes and a three-orbed magnet creature accompanied them; the magnet Pokemon was slower than the rest due to its excessive energy usage.

"You're not going anywhere," one of the hunters released a surge of spikes made of light at the escapee, "Poison Sting!" The mouse sidestepped to dodge the attack and sprinted through a crack in another alleyway, escaping from his pursuers once more.

One of them stomped on the ground, "Damn! We managed to round up hordes of dragon types, but we can't contain a stinkin Pikachu?" He spat on the ground with fury, "I've had enough." As he said this, he placed a gloved-hand over the floating Magneton. It began to shake uncontrollably as energy was being absorbed into the gloves. Finally, it fell on the cement and the three orbs cracked, "Mag…ne…_ton…"_ it buzzed, before its eyes blanked out.

A hunter shook his head, "If you keep doing that, we'll run out of Pokemon, that's like the twenty-eighth one we burned through today!"

"What's the point of catching this thing anyways?"

"Well…" he activated his communicator, revealing a 3D image of a report with a photo of what appeared to be a young trainer with a hat and black hair. "Supposedly, _this _Pikachu belonged to a powerful trainer, who, our general got rid of. Currently, half of his Pokemon team was released as a last minute escape to avoid capture, including this Pikachu."

The other hunter grunted, "Who cares," he extended out his hand. "Pokemon are all over the globe, we can get as much as we want. Lock-On." His glove created some sort of cross with an arrow that kept moving back and forth, almost like a compass until it stopped, "Now, this attack won't miss."

***Denoval High School***

The high school was a large campus that was built on an island several miles away from the city and is divided by three main wings. Each wing is a building complex for students based on their year; first, second, and third accordingly. A large fountain greets those who cross the intersecting paths towards the three wings, which is surrounded by trees.

It was Gym time for the students and today's activity was Baseball. Everyone was lined up behind the large steel fence while one person went up to home plate to take a swing at the bat.

The pitcher grasped the ball tightly with his two hands, narrowed his eyes and took a stance, and then he slugged the ball as hard as he could. The batter closed his eyes right before the swing, and opened them once he heard the _klink, _he made a run for the first base.

Unbeknownst to one outfielder, who was busy watching videos on his Xtransceiver, the ball soared straight in his direction.

"_Tsukuru, look out!"_

He looked up at that instant, but it was too late and the ball connected perfectly with his forehead. The player fell back on his bottom and rubbed his forehead, now a large lump protruding from the impact of the ball. Everyone at first remained silent, but started to laugh at the clueless kid who paid no heed and turned back to watch his videos, except for one boy who went over to check if the guy was alright.

"Hey, you okay?" he asked as he extended his arm out. The kid, known as Kotei Tsukuru looked up to see the blue eyes of his helper smiling down at him. _Kurogasa Kururugi_, a second year and classmate of Kotei's. He's one of those type of guys who makes friends with almost _everyone, _and even if he doesn't, he at least respects them. His brown hair is usually somewhat unkempt, but in a stylistic way. To a lame person like Kotei, it was really startling for such a popular guy to help him. Kotei accepted the offer and was pulled up to his feet.

"Thanks, I didn't see it coming," he ruffled his spiky black hair.

Kurogasa laughed, "You should pay more attention while playing baseball, you know?"

Kotei just nodded and reverted his eyes back to the screen of his Xtransceiver. Curious, Kurogasa glanced at what this kid was so into that would cause him to get hit on the head with a mediocre pitch.

"Pokemon huh?" he smiled. "You a big Pokemon fan?"

Kotei grinned, "It's like one of my dreams to become a Pokemon master." He looked on the screen as his favorite trainer was deemed the victor of the match. There was confetti pouring down all around him and his partner Emboar raised its fiery fists proudly. Everything seemed possible, until the truth hit him hard. His mother would never allow him to go on a journey, let alone get a Pokemon of his own. He didn't know why, but every time the idea was brought up, she would get frustrated to the point of grounding him. Kotei sighed in disappointment.

"Hey, I know what you're thinking," he noticed Kotei's change in expression. "It sucks when you're being pulled back from your dreams and it feels like you can't do anything about it…" The brown haired guy scratched his head, wondering how to word his advice without sounding awkward. "Yet, I take those kinds of constraints as an opportunity to try hard, you know?"

Maybe it was the words or something, but Kotei felt much better after hearing the brown haired guy's advice. "Thanks for that, um…"

The brown haired guy smiled, "No prob, and its Kururugi. Kurogasa Kururugi." Just as he said this, the bell rang, signaling that gym class was over. All the students picked up the gear and started to head back towards the gymnasium. Kurogasa gave Tsukuru a thumbs up before heading back to the locker rooms, "Take it easy Tsukuru."

Kotei smiled, _Is this what it means to have friends? _Indeed, he felt happy on the inside. It was his first time actually being accepted and not laughed at for his clumsiness in school. Although Kotei isn't the laughing stock of his school, he causes his own humiliations by his lack of sensing his surroundings and doesn't seem to make friends due to his love of Pokemon more than anything, even though he wants one. Hopefully, he doesn't mess this one up, _especially_ with Kururugi. _No one _can be hated by that guy.

English was Kotei's last class of the day before he packed up his things and left for the monorail station. The station is located right outside the gates near the school fountain and is connected to Denoval City through several rail systems. At around 3:45 p.m., Kotei stood in line with the other departing students as three monorails pulled up with a metallic screech. Once everyone boarded, the three took separate paths as friends bid each other their goodbyes.

Finally, the monorail stopped at the last stop of the day. The door opened, and the remaining passengers stepped off. As Kotei got off, he noticed they were greeted by their own Pokemon after a long day at school. He felt a pang of sadness, followed by jealousy.

He turned around and started heading down the block. As Kotei walked by, he found himself passing the local park. Children and their parents were playing with their Pokemon, having fun, an opportunity that was never given to him. For all he knew, his father was a douche for leaving his mother before he was born and she was even worse for being a strict and irrational parent.

"Damn!" he kicked a pebble down the empty street, _Why do she gotta be so strict and hateful towards Pokemon? _Kotei turned the corner on the right and entered his own neighborhood.

He lived in a semi-wealthy neighborhood that was built on a hill. There were large houses with some driveways parked by expensive cars for the richer families who lived there. Kotei's house was on the very end of the cul-de-sac. It was smaller compared to the other houses in that it was only one-story and appeared to be quite puny from the outside. However; the inside was fairly large and benefitted from being on the end due to its great view as it resided at the top of the hill.

_She's back from work I guess, _he noticed the car parked in his driveway as he entered his house, "Mom, I'm back from school!" he shouted. There was a response from the kitchen as the swishing of water could be heard and the smell of dinner being made. Kotei went to his room.

The room was decorated with posters of all five of the Elite Fours in each region and Pokemon related action figures, dolls, and alarm clock. He sighed as he set his schoolbag down and threw himself onto the bed while turning on his Xtransceiver. A screen popped up on the last page that was accessed by him, he scrolled through the video listings for the newest one. The videos themselves were Pokemon tournament battles taped live from years ago, but Kotei was instantly addicted once he discovered this channel.

At around 5:30, his mom called him for dinner. He switched off his device and walked out of his room. When he entered the kitchen, he was surprised that she was sitting down at the table and not in her uniform. She smiled as he pulled up the chair and sat down across from her. Tonight's dinner was homemade teriyaki, rice, and a side of salad, his favorite.

"So…how was school?" she leaned herself forward.

Kotei swallowed, "It was great." He said as he continued to eat.

His mother was surprised, "Did something happen at school?"

"No, why?" Kotei was confused.

"Well, you usually say _good _or _it was okay_," she imitated her son's words in a depressing tone.

"It was the same," he swallowed another bite. "By the way, how was work and shouldn't you be on duty right now?"

Single, and the mother of Kotei, Anata Tsukuru was left by her husband while pregnant at the age of twenty-four and before her son was born. She is a local police officer at the Denoval Police Station and is well-respected among her fellow policemen. Although she flirts and acts cute, when she is on the job, she is fearless. Kotei hates his mother for not being there for him due to her job and forbid him from having a Pokemon as well.

Anata checked her Xtransceiver. It said 6:00 p.m. "Oh sh—! I mean shoot, sorry kiddo, but I gotta get ready for my night patrol!" She quickly got up and left the kitchen. Kotei heard the rustling of shoes and footsteps. She reappeared in her light-blue blouse and skirt with the police cap on her head. "You can just leave the dishes in the sink, I'll get them. Good night!" She gave him a kiss before taking off as the door shut behind her.

She smiled as she got in the car, _Something good must have happened at school; maybe it's a cute girl? He's at that age where he starts to think with his little Foongus now, my how he has grown. _Anata giggled at the thought as she drove away.

Kotei finished his last bite and placed the dishes into the sink. He went over to the sliding door of the back porch and pushed it open. A soft breeze of the night brushed past his hair and face as he looked up into the dark-blue horizon. He walked across the deck to the wooden railings and stared out into the distant lights of the city. The soothing wind began to lull him to slumber as he laid himself onto the wooden railing for support, darkness took over him…

_BOOM!_

He woke up with a startle and fell on his back. Kotei scanned his surroundings for any signs of abnormal activities, but sighed in relief when he found nothing.

_Sounded like thunder, but… _he looked up into the now-black, but clear sky. _There doesn't seem to be a storm. _He took one last glance at the desolate neighborhood in front of him and began to head back, but stopped suddenly when he heard the same sound once more.

_BOOM! _

This time, there were other noises as well. Kotei looked below the railings and saw lights flashing along with the sounds of explosions coming from the park area. _What is that? _He ran back inside and quickly snatched his Xtransceiver before shutting the door behind him.

_BOOM!_

Kotei followed the sound as he sprinted down the hill and made a turn. _It's coming from the direction of the park…_ he crossed the road to the other side of the street and found himself at the entrance of the park. Although not as bright from his home, he could see faint glows in the distance behind some trees.

_If it's a criminal, then I have to contact mom…_ he stopped himself before dialing her number. She always told him if something were to happen, he should call her and she would drop everything to come for him, but something felt strange to him. _What if it's a Pokemon? _He wondered. _Mom would kill me if she found out I came into contact with one, just like last time… _Kotei shrugged it off as he ran in.

***Denoval Park Trail***

Electric currents emitted from Pikachu as he growled at the two figures that crept closer towards him. He backed up into a tree with nowhere else as escape. One of the three took a step closer with his hand pointed towards it, "Now, now, we're not going to hurt you, just stay right where you are—_GAHH!" _He fell as a bolt of lightning struck him.

_Want some more? _Pikachu thought to itself. Another Peon gripped his glove, "Poison Sting!" Glowing needles rushed at the rodent. Pikachu Quick Attacked out of the way but was slammed down by two Zubats.

"Pika-pi?" he questioned why the Zubats were listening to these monsters, but squealed painfully by another Poison Sting.

The fallen Peon 2 got up and kicked Pikachu, "Piece of crap!" It screamed in agony as he did so twice. Peon 1 shook his head.

"Don't kill it, General Sol said its SPP levels are extremely high," Peon 3 pointed out. "Besides, it's worn out from our little chase all day." He looked at the Pikachu, now coughing up blood from being kicked. Even though it couldn't move, its eyes displayed terrifying determination.

Peon 1 grunted, "Alright, let's sack it." He reached down to his belt and picked out a silver ball. The Obedience Ball or OB for short, forced any Pokemon captured to become loyal against their will. Their thoughts and feelings are intact, but their body moves only if directed by the capturer. "It's finally over pest; we're taking you back to HQ after all this trouble you caused." Pikachu closed his eyes and spirit was beginning to fade as the man placed the ball over him _The message…I failed you… _

"_STOP!"_

Pikachu's ears perked up and the three Peons turned in the direction of the sound. Standing on the other side, across from them, was a teenage boy. The Peons were confused and even Pikachu's fur bristled in fear as another human had showed up, "Who the heck are you?"

Kotei panted while raising a hand, "At first I thought you guys were having a battle, but it started to look a little violent." He stopped to catch his breath, "So, I stopped you from doing anymore."

The Peons stared at the boy in disbelief, and then looked at each other. At first, they were surprised and in fact, startled by this sudden event, but began to laugh. Kotei frowned at their sudden burst of laughter. He didn't understand.

"What's so funny about hurting a Pokemon?" he snapped. "You guys are a bunch of thugs, get lost—," his sudden determination was cut short when they stopped laughing and looked at him with sinister eyes. These guys weren't regular thugs; something about them was more terrifying than that.

Peon 2 spoke first, "What's the guidelines for anybody interrupting our operations?" He asked one of his team mates. The other pulled up his device and carefully analyzed it.

"To dispose of any who oppose any of our operations," Peon 1 switched off the device and smiled. "Well, this should be fun." His glove began to glow with an aura as he tapped one Zubat. It screeched in pain, before crashing onto the ground and didn't move anymore and then directed it at Kotei, "Poison Sting." A wave of needles shot forth.

At first, Kotei didn't know what was going on, but the strange light suddenly exploded in front of him as it came in contact with the ground, causing him to stagger back. His eyes widened in shock and fear at the burning crater left by what appeared to a show of light works, but it was something that could have killed him. Panic coursed through him, _What is that?_

"Boy, since I don't like to harm little kids, I suggest you get lost and forget everything you saw. Alright?" the Peon sniggered.

Kotei scrambled to his feet automatically and started to run as fast as he could, back to home, back to where he would be safe. He heard the Peons' laughter fade as he ran further away from that place. Further away from danger. Further away from…Pokemon. He stopped, and remembered what happened to that Zubat, the same thing would be done to that Pikachu.

"What the hell can I do?" he shouted into the night sky. "I'm just a loser who has no friends!" He thought about his life, and how pathetic he has lived it up to this point. _No, I won't go back, this is my chance to man up! _Kotei turned around and ran as hard as he could. Back to where the danger was, back to where that Pikachu was being held captive.

"Well, that was easy," Peon 2 turned back to the Pikachu, which had attempted to move, but only managed a couple feet away from them. "You're not going anywhere." He walked over to the mouse as it tried dragging its body towards the bushes and kicked it back. It whimpered in response.

Peon 1 angrily pushed him away, "Hey! I said stop hurting it, we're just here to capture, not torture it!" He snatched the OB and looked at the Pikachu, which hissed in response. As much as he was loyal to Pneuma, its ways were disgusting to him, but he had no choice. He directed the OB towards it, _Forgive me. _

Just then he heard quick footsteps from behind him, before he could turn around, he was tackled to the ground. At that instant, the Pikachu flips back, with Peon 2 in hot pursuit. It swung forward, barely escaping the Poison Sting and in one swift motion packs an Iron Tail on his back sending him down.

Meanwhile, Kotei and Peon 1 are rolling around on the floor trying to gain the upper hand on top. Peon 1, stronger physically and mentally pins him down with the glove on the kid's face, "Die!" Kotei closes his eyes, but hears a grunt and reopens them to see the Pikachu had slammed into the enemy, knocking him down. It looks back at him as if it was signaling him to command it. Excitement and adrenaline rush through Kotei, he has never been in a _real_ battle before.

"Um…Zap Cannon?" he didn't know what attacks the Pikachu had, and it shook its head in disappointment. "Then wha—," before he could speak, it pushed him out of Peon 2's Poison Sting, groaning as he landed hard on the ground, but immediately perks up to see Peon 1 opening his mouth wide as sound waves resonated out of it.

"Supersonic!"

Kotei covered his ears as his head began to ache and vision blurred. An immediate Iron Tail from Pikachu knocks the man over and sound waves with him. Kotei smiles in gratitude as the Pikachu had saved him once more, but his smile was broken when it was flung back. Peon 2 grinned as the Poison Sting had connected and Kotei rushed over to the moaning Pokemon.

"No!" he knelt down and picked it up, "Are you alright? Please, stand up!" Its eyelids shook as it was on verge of its limits. Kotei turned angrily at the two Peons as they raised both of their glowing gloves at them. They laughed as he gently placed the Pokemon down and stood up; raising his arms out, "Kill me first! I never had a good life to begin with, so why not end it?"

"So, you're willing to die to protect a Pokemon…" Peon 1 frowned, "Then I respect your courage, but this is a mission we cannot fail." He nodded to his partner as they charged up both of their devices, "Farewell, brave boy…I won't forget this." Both gloves began to glow with energy, then, a mass wave of glowing needles came at Kotei and he closed his eyes as he prepared for his death.

At that moment, he felt a soft fur brush against his cheek and something yellow rushed past his shoulder. It jumped into the air as electric currents coursed throughout its body and all he could do was stare in awe, "_Pi…ka…chu!" _

_BOOM!_

Kotei shielded his eyes as a blinding light engulfed the whole area, followed by the sound of a great explosion. As the light faded, debris that was thrown into the area started raining down on him, as he covered his head. He finally opened his eyes to see a large crater in front of him.

"Pikachu!" he jumped into the crater and held it in a firm embrace. He gasped as it licked his face before fainting. "I need to get you to a Pokemon Center, and fast!" Kotei crawled back out of the hole and noticed two burned bodies near it. As he got close, he couldn't tell if they were dead or alive, but one thing was certain. He knelt down and caught a glance at the gloves.

_These things are dangerous…_ He pulled them off and examined them. They were chrome in color, fingerless and with a large X on the middle. Kotei stuffed them in his pockets and with Pikachu in his arms, ran as fast as his legs would take him. Somewhere away from this place, _A Pokemon Center, yes…_ he thought as the distant sounds of sirens began to edge closer.

Kotei Tsukuru had always wanted to be a Pokemon trainer. To challenge other trainers and win gym battles throughout all regions as he made his way to the Pokemon League. But the day he took in the Pikachu and stole the gloves, was the day his life would change forever.

***End of Chapter 1***

Okay, I did it and it wasn't the easiest thing to do. There were times when I was contemplating on who to add in the story because of setting issues, but I ultimately made my decision. For those of you who haven't had your OCs shown yet, don't worry yet, I'm still trying to find a way to add them in!

I hope you guys enjoyed this and if you have anything you would like to say, please comment on it, I would greatly appreciate what you liked about this and/or what you disliked about it so I can improve!

Thanks and see you soon!


	3. Concealed

**A/N: **Chapter update and I hope you guys like it!

**Disclaimer: I do not take credit for any characters, locations, and Pokemon, except for the places and characters I created.**

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***Chapter 2: Concealed***

Beneath the starry sky of Denoval, lights of many colors lit up the city. It was that time of the evening where the suspense of night life and dangers of the unknown ruled the huge metropolis. The presence of children no longer existed; allowing prostitutes, thugs, and mischievous young people stalked the streets. However; on the distant edge of city, everything was dark and quiet as houses remained asleep, except for the flashes of red and blue within the forest park trail.

Men in black suits patrolled the park with keen eyes and specialists examined the area within the crater for signs of evidence. Near the crater, two bodies were being examined by a couple of forensic pathologists. One body was covered up by a sheet and the other was exposed as it was being analyzed by the examiners. They operated odd machines that _beeped _and _booped _with each stroke on the touch screens as data was being uploaded. A police vehicle pulled up near the park entrance.

Anata Tsukuru stretched out her arms before shutting the doors and stepped through the yellow barricade tape. She flashed her badge to the guard before joining a tall black haired man dressed in a brown suit with a pink tie all under a large brown coat. He appeared to be deep in thought as he rubbed his chin while examining the corpse. The female officer raised an eyebrow at the man, "Didn't expect to see you again." There was a form of anger that came from her, but reunion as well.

"Me neither," he tried avoiding her gaze by looking back down at the corpse. "How long has it been, fifteen to sixteen years?" The man chuckled, before lighting a cigarette. "You still dress like your family members." He offered her one and she took it as he lit it for her.

She sighed with annoyance, "I'm different from my cousins, in that I was the first one to actually get married and have a kid, you know?" Smoke filled the air, "But you already know about that, so let's cut to the chase, what happened here?"

The man reached into his pockets and handed her a small sheet of paper, "According to our investigation team, these two were identified as members of Team Pneuma who had met an unfortunate end right here in the park." He explained as Anata's eyes scanned through the crime report.

"What caused this?" she gestured her hands to the bodies and the large crater in front of them. "Suicide bombing or some form of explosives?" she asked, but frowned when he shook his head.

"There is no evidence of any weaponry or explosives involved, as they would leave fragments."

"Then, what happened exactly?"

"As strange as this sounds…" he folded his arms and glanced at the crater, before turning back to meet Anata's gaze, "It was caused by lightning." As he said this, a drop of wetness landed on his nose, prompting him to look up. The clouds were dark and gathering.

* * *

***Denoval Pokemon Center***

Even though rain was pouring down at an increased rate, people loitered the streets of Denoval with umbrellas and rain coats. A puddle of rain splashed as Kotei ran towards the visible Pokemon Center just ahead of him. Pikachu was barely breathing as it was snuggled up against the teenager so as to keep it from getting wet. The Pokemon Center was a large rectangular building with a salmon-colored roof and a large P was flashing on top. Kotei sighed in relief as the open sign was still turned on and he stepped through the automatic sliding doors.

The lobby itself was empty, except for a few trainers and sleeping bags strewn across the corners. Besides a facility for recovering Pokemon, it is also a place for trainers to check in for the night while on their journeys. Kotei hurried over to the counter where a woman was on the phone while typing onto her PC at the same time. She appeared to be stressed out as her hot-pink hair was tangled and her nurse's hat was tilted to the side. As he approached her, she finished talking and hung up before noticing him.

"This is an emergency," he held out the battered Pikachu. "Please, help it!" The woman, otherwise known as Nurse Joy took it into her hands and examined it. She immediately called over to a pink, egg-shaped Pokemon that was at work behind the desk and it waddled over with a stretcher.

She placed the Pikachu onto the carrier, "This Pokemon needs immediate attention right now!" They both took the electric mouse back through into room that said _Operating. _As the doors shut behind them, the sign lit up and medical attention had begun. With nothing for Kotei to do, he walked over to the lobby and sat down on one of the leather chairs, thoughts racing through his mind.

_What did I just do? What happened? _He ruffled his own hair in both frustration and confusion. There was no doubt that Kotei had done something crazy by bringing a Pokemon here and even more so that he took those…_gloves. _He looked around to make sure no one was watching before taking one out of his pockets. The metallic surface was cold to the touch and something about it didn't feel right. _There is definitely something weird about these things, _he thought before stuffing it back in. Eventually, tiredness took over and he fell asleep.

After what seemed like a couple hours, Kotei woke up. He looked over to the counter and saw that the nurse was back again. He yawned as he walked over to her, while noticing that all of the trainers were either gone or had checked in, "Um…is it alright?"

She looked up and smiled, "It's doing fine now. It needs a day to recover before I can let it go, but other than that, you were lucky to have brought it here or else it would have been fatally wounded, or worse."

Kotei sighed in relief, "Thank you so much." As he said this, he checked the time and gasped, "Oh no! It's _way _past my curfew! Mom would be back by now!"

"Don't worry about the Pikachu, I'll take good care of it," she assured him. "You should go on home before your mother gets worried."

"Alright, thanks again!" he started walking out, when she said something.

"You're welcome to come by any time to visit him," she smiled. "I mean, I would be happy if my trainer would stop by to see how I was doing."

Kotei nodded, "Thanks, I will." With that, he walked out of the sliding doors into the night. The rain had stopped and it would make it easier for him to get home.

_Trainer, huh? _He thought to himself. _I never imagined the day I would get called by that title. _Kotei smiled as he walked through the moonlit evening.

When he returned home, he was relieved to see that his mom's car wasn't there, so he quickly entered his house and went to his room. After changing into suitable sleepwear, he jumped in bed and went to sleep. As he did so, the door to his room slowly peeked open.

Anata looked at her son and smiled, she was relieved that he had come home safely, but her heart felt like it had been stabbed. She knew her son despised her for not letting him have Pokemon. It didn't surprise her; she deserved his hatred for not being the mother he needed, the woman who he could trust and count on. The door closed quietly as Anata thought about her past. She was the only member of the Jenny family who got married and gave birth to a son she loved more than anything, but could not even be there for him.

_I'm such a horrible mother…_ tears began to well up as she pulled her hair, the stinging pain didn't matter to her, she's endured worse. _How stupid a girl was I? Maybe I wasn't ready to have kids… _She rubbed her eyes and sniffled, before heading into the master bedroom. It was a large room and quite daunting for a single person because it was a room built for two people. Anata Tsukuru laid herself onto the king-sized bed and cried herself to sleep.

* * *

***Denoval High School***

Finally, the last day of the week had arrived. _Friday_, for many people, meant the last day of school, a time off from their jobs, and simply a time to spend an amazing weekend with friends and family before returning to their tiring cycle of the week, except for Kotei. He hated the weekends because he had no one to hang out with and since his mom was never home most of the time, he usually ended spending it by himself.

The bell rang as students and staff alike crowded the grounds of the high school, scrambling to get to their classes. Kotei too, strode through the hallway towards his homeroom, when he noticed a loud noise coming from the other side of the hall. He walked over to a group of students crowding around the source of the sounds and looked over their shoulders; he was surprised at what he saw.

There were about five girls, four of which were sneering at the fifth one. The fifth girl's face was inhumanly red and her teeth were clenched angrily, she was _pissed_. Her auburn-brown hair was quite long, just past her shoulders, but tangled and messy. The green glasses that rested on her nose were framed, and quite large for her face.

"So?" one of the girls taunted her, "What are you gonna do about it?"

The girl with the glasses lashed out, "You think it's _cool _to treat Pokemon like slaves?" Her face appeared as if it could reach a new color, "Third year or not, they're like humans, like us! Would you be happy if someone ordered _you _around?" She pointed a finger at the girl, causing the crowd of students to gasp, but the girl smiled in amusement.

"Did you just hear this _chick_?" the girl pointed back while talking to her audience. "Obviously, she shows no respect towards the upperclassmen, so she needs to be taught a lesson." She snapped her fingers and the other three girls grabbed the red-faced one.

"No! Let me go you cruel people, let me go!" she struggled within their grasp, but could not seem to move. The other girl, now apparent as the leader of the group, walked in front of her and took off her glasses, prompting her to emit a shrill scream, "_NOOO!" _but could only watch in horror as the upperclassmen dropped them on the ground with a _click _and proceeded to place her foot over it.

_Crack._

They laughed as the girl was dropped to the ground as she scampered over to her glasses, now destroyed. Everyone began to leave as they whispered on about how this happened almost every day, except for Kotei, who just stood there with pity in his eyes.

He's heard about this girl, _Chou Hayashi_. She is made fun of every day for scolding people on how they should treat their Pokemon, but most notably for them to be outside of their Poke-Balls as she believes it creates confinement. Chou is quite the oddball as she hangs posters everywhere she goes that say, "_Pokemon Should Be Free!" _or "_Pokemon Cruelty Should Be Against the Law." _Although, Kotei agrees that Pokemon should be treated fairly, this type of activism went far beyond his views.

Right as the bell rang, Kotei asked her, "Hey, um…you okay?" She looked up in surprise at his concern, but he left immediately before she responded. He felt bad leaving her there, but he had classes to go to and it's not like his life is any better either.

After the last class of the day ended, Kotei made his way wait out of the classroom when someone familiar was waiting for him right outside the door. It was Kurogasa, and he had this funny grin on his face.

"Um…hello," Kotei muttered. _Wow! That was the lamest greeting ever, now he's totally gonna think I'm a loser, if not already! _But to his surprise, Kurogasa's smile didn't falter.

"Man, you sure know how to treat the ladies!" he laughed. "I didn't know you had it in ya!"

"WHAT?" Kotei's eyes widened in confusion, "I mean, sorry for that outburst, but what are you talking about?"

Kurogasa scratched his chin, "I saw you there, in the hallway, making a move on that short-tempered activist."

Kotei tilted his head with a funny look on his face. _Short-tempered activist…is that what he calls her? _He thought about it for a minute, _That does make sense… _but snapped out of it when he was slapped on the back, "Gah!"

"Hey Tsukuru, are you on your way home as well?" Kurogasa wondered.

Kotei nodded, "Um…yeah, you too?"

"Well, then it's settled," he stretched out his arms. "Let's go." He grabbed Kotei by the shoulder and pushed him through the hallway, almost as if they were best buds. The feeling was incredibly awkward for Kotei himself, but couldn't seem to move, so he went with it.

They made their way to the monorail stations and stood in line. Kotei wasn't sure what Kurogasa was planning so he had to ask.

"So, why are we here? I mean," he face palmed, "Where's your home?" It was a strange question for Kotei's standards, as he rarely asks people where they lived, but Kurogasa only smiled. _Like he always does... _he thought.

"I live a couple blocks down from the trail park," he explained.

Kotei was surprised, "Wait, you do?" He too lived a couple blocks from the park as well, but he's never seen Kurogasa around before, "Which side, because I kinda live…near there."

"Really?" his eyes seemed to widen with excitement. "I've never seen you outside of school. Then you probably know the monorail stop, from there you take a right as you get off."

_No wonder I haven't seen him before. He goes in the opposite direction from me, near the Pokemon Center too…_ Kotei frowned, _I hope Pikachu's alright. _Kurogasa seemed to notice this.

"Is something bothering you again?"

Kotei shook his head, "N-no, nothing's bothering me!" The monorails pulled up as another wave of students took their seats within it and noticed Kurogasa boarding the same one as his, but it was even more overwhelming when he sat next to him. Even though lots of other students greeted him on the ride back, he seemed to stay where he was. _Probably because were at the same stop, _he thought.

"Hey, Tsukuru," Kurogasa had a curious look on his face. "What are you doing this weekend?"

This caused Kotei to jump in his seat; he hated these kinds of questions, but only because of the answers he'd have to give. Every time he was asked a similar question, he would lie. He'd always say that he was busy or would go on trips, but clearly people could see through them, he could tell, might as well tell the truth anyways.

"Actually," he paused and gulped, "I don't have plans for anything these three days…" There, he said it.

"Well, that wouldn't be any fun."

Kotei nodded, "Yeah, my friends are all busy, and my mom isn't going to be home until Sunday evening, but that's just for a little while too."

"Oh, why is that?" Kurogasa seemed to be interested.

Although Kotei never talked about his life, this was the first time anyone got past the initial questions and somehow, it made him feel better. He cleared his throat, "My mom is a police officer who works at the station, but is hardly ever home because of her patrols, so I'm usually home alone for the weekends."

Kurogasa nodded, "I know what you mean. My parents are never home as well, they're always working." He forced a laugh which seemed hysterical, "I feel ya, the only ones who's ever by my side are my bros Riolu and Piplup, although I can't understand them!" As Kurogasa laughed, for some reason, Kotei smiled. Even for a guy like Kurogasa, he was still human and had his own moments like these.

The monorail stopped moving and the doors opened. People stepped out, including Kotei and Kurogasa.

"Well, I guess this is goodbye," Kurogasa grinned. "See ya later Ko—, I mean Tsukuru." He seemed embarrassed as he was about call Kotei by his first name as people usually called friends by their first names.

Kotei smiled, "Nah, it's just Kotei." They both bid their farewells and walked in the opposite directions. It was actually quite nice to be called by his first name, he'd only ever been called Tsukuru most of his life. As he walked through the bright afternoon, he remembered something from the day before and at that instant with excitement, changed course towards the Pokemon Center.

* * *

***Neighborhood Area***

He strode across the lobby to where the nurse was typing vigorously onto her keyboard; her hair wasn't tangled from before. She turned as he leaned over the counter, "May I help you?"

"Um…yeah, I'm here to see a Pokemon."

Nurse Joy typed into the PC, "Name and Pokemon, please." She appeared to be annoyed and he wondered if this was the same Joy from before.

"Kotei Tsukuru and Pikachu," he muttered. After some furious typing with a few clicks and touches to the screen, she got up and gestured for him to follow her. She led him into the back were there was a room filled with incubators that contained Pokemon asleep within. He followed her to the very end where the Pikachu was lying down, she opened the lid.

Pikachu opened its eyes, "Pika-pi?" Its expression seemed to be annoyance, as if it wanted to rest more, but had to get up. Joy picked it up and handed it over to Kotei, who fumbled to grab it.

"Will that be all?" her tone was quite lazy. With that, Kotei and Pikachu left the Pokemon Center.

The way back was very troublesome. Pikachu refused to walk next to him as if he was a complete stranger. It would stay at least a couple feet away from him, but still followed him wherever he went. As they turned the corner of a large stone wall, both stopped to see a crowd of people gathering around… _her?_

She was on top of a pedestal with a megaphone in one hand and a sign on the other hand that read, "_Free the Pokemon!" _There were looks of confusion and annoyance amongst the people as this young lady tossed pins into the audience while stomping her feet.

"Pika?" even Pikachu narrowed its eyes as it thought to itself, _The hell is her problem?_

"Pokemon should be freeeee!" she danced around while shouting loudly into her device, which caused people to cover their ears. Soon enough, they threw their pins on the ground and disbanded, no longer wanting to listen to this crazy girl. As soon as everyone left, she scanned her surroundings and caught Kotei with a glare.

He immediately froze up, _What should I do? _But there seemed to be no place to escape to. She came up to him and looked at him directly in the eyes before smiling and holding out a hand.

"Hi! I'm Chou and thanks for earlier!" Kotei slowly extended out a hand, but she grabbed it and shook it hard with a strange smile on her face.

"Yeah…no problem," he looked at Pikachu for support, but it just ignored him, so he turned back to Chou, "What were you doing exactly?"

Her eyes lit up with fiery passion, "I am on a mission to save the Pokemon of this world!" She placed her hands on her hips as if she was a superhero, but noticed Pikachu and gleamed at it, "Oh my goodness, you keep yours out of its prison?"

"You mean Poke-Ball, right?" even Kotei was beginning to be annoyed by her already.

She nodded, "Yeah, and I'm so itching to show you mine as well!" Chou screeched into her megaphone so loud that Kotei and Pikachu were literally thrown back, "_MEME!" _As she yelled, the trees near the park trail rustled before a large butterfly-like creature swooped in and landed on her back.

"Breeh!"

Kotei stood up while rubbing his head, when he noticed the Butterfree in front of him. Its wings were actually very pretty, but they seemed to have this sort of bond that was weird and beautiful at the same time, "Wow, that's pretty cool Chou!"

"Really?" her eyes twinkled at the compliment. "I've raised her up ever since she was a teeny-weeny Caterpie, and now," she said as she looked up in admiration, "She's grown into a beautiful little Butterfree." Kotei frowned as Chou began to cough uncontrollably while kneeling on the ground to cover her mouth.

"Are you okay?" he knelt down beside her. "Do you need to go to the medical center?"

She shook her head, "No…I've had this cough ever since I could remember and meds haven't helped me. Doctors told me my disease is terminal, but not deadly as long as I take my prescriptions." Meme gently draped its wings over its master in worry, Chou smiled and touched them, "I'm fine, don't worry." Just then, a black car pulled up and the tinted window was slid down, revealing chrome mask. Kotei froze.

Pikachu's fur bristled at the car and Kotei grabbed Chou's hand, "We need to get out of here." He started pulling her towards the trees in the park trail when she pried away from him.

"What's the matter," she was confused. "Do they make fun of you too?" Her gaze shifted to the black car and the figure inside. The figure smiled as the doors began to open, with three Pneuma members hopping out of the vehicle.

"No time to explain, just please come with me!" he took her hand again and this time dragged her towards the trail, Pikachu and Meme following suit.

The Pneuma members stood in front of the armored man, "General, what are your orders?" They stood in a salute-like pose and awaited his command.

"He has the X-gloves in his possession and the Pikachu as well," the general's long pointed finger nails scratched the glass of the window, "Do what is needed to get them back." With that, the members immediately sent out their Pokemon before going after the two kids. The general smiled and the car drove away.

* * *

***Park Trail***

The sun was setting as orange lights passed through the treetops and onto the cement of the trail, the sound of footsteps broke the silent air as Kotei and Chou were sprinting as fast as they could through the park.

"What is the meaning of this, Tsukuru?" her breath, raspy from the excessive running. "Who are they and why are we running away from them?"

Kotei panted, "You won't believe me, but they are members of Team Pneuma and they're here to take the gloves back."

"What?" she sounded pissed, but had to gain a few breaths before speaking again. "You stole something from them?" Chou stopped running and glared at him in fury. "You're just a thief, no wonder you deserve their punishment!"

"Wha? No!" he tried to explain. "They're bad criminals and they're after this Pikachu!" Before he could say anymore, a net of electricity snared Pikachu. It cried out in shock. Kotei saw three Peons running toward them with Joltik, Zubat, and a Sneasel.

Before Chou could turn around, Kotei pushed her, just barely missing the Poison Sting. She pushed him off and fumed, but turned around to see the Peons. Sneasel sprung forward, Slash ready, but Meme shot powerful sound waves, knocking it back.

Kotei got up, "See? They're here to kill us!"

"Then what do we do?" moaned Chou, fear in her eyes as another Electro Web was swung, Meme blocked with Shadow Ball. Peon 1 came at them, her gloves imbued with Shadow Claw, while Sneasel flanks with Slash. Meme flapped forward and Psybeamed the Peon, but was knocked down from Sneasel. "No!" Chou knelt down, but Electro Web seized her immobile.

All three Peons surrounded Kotei and Pikachu, now freed from the web, but at a disadvantage. The first one lunged with Supersonic, followed by Poison Sting. Pikachu Thuderbolts it off, leaps back to Iron Tail the rushing Peon from behind, but was hit down by Joltik's web again.

_Oh crap! What can I do? _Panic built up within Kotei's mind as the three came closer. He glanced at the unconscious Chou and Meme, before turning back to meet Pikachu's gaze. _What is it? _It tilted its head at his pockets, the _gloves. _He pulled them out and the Peons stopped for a moment, but immediately saw the new threat and assaulted him. Kotei, with both gloves on and hands extended, lunged forward at Pikachu.

_BOOM!_

An explosion of electricity lit up the trail, throwing the three Peons and Pokemon back, "You've got to be kidding me." As the dust cleared, Kotei stood, staring down onto his gloves in awe. Electricity coursed through the chrome as he clenched them. He pointed it at the Pikachu and lightning burst out, destroying the webs, but the impact sent him back. Pikachu jumped beside Kotei as they both held a stance, but the Peons were not fazed. "He's not used to them, this'll be easy," they shouted and lunged.

Kotei broke out into a sweat; _I hope I can fight…_

***End of Chapter 2***

* * *

**A/N: **Thanks for reading everyone, but I may have some bad news. I posted the prologue and first two chapters in the course of two days between each one, but it's starting to get really tough. So, I decided to **post every three-to five days** from now (I know some of you will hate me for this), but bear with me, I will post as fast as I can. Thanks!

This chapter I introduced a new OC and will begin to provide a cast list at the end of each chapter.

**OC Cast for Chapter 2 Concealed:**

**Kurogasa Kururugi— By Fenikkusumaru  
Debut: Chapter 1 Contact**

**Chou Hayashi— By TPNO (ThePikachuNerdOriginal)  
Debut: Chapter 2 Concealed**

I think it's odd all my titles start with "C" besides the prologue…

Don't worry, there are plenty of OC's to be shown, so hold on!

I would like to thank everyone in my review section and those who PM'ed me for their support and understanding! I would appreciate the feedback as well!

Hope to update soon!


	4. Confrontation

Thank you everyone who reviewed, PM'ed, favorited, followed, and has read my story!

Due to a **guest **and **MyNoseAgreesWithMe**, I have decided to name my chapters with words that start with C! So thank you for that and I would appreciate it if anyone gives me more ideas for chapter names that start with C! I will mention your name of course!

**Disclaimer: I do not take credit for any characters, locations, and Pokemon, except for the places and characters I created.**

* * *

***Chapter 3 Confrontation***

_Shit!_

Kotei ducks just in time to hear the buzzing Electro Web sail over him, but immediately sees the Joltik rush at him with a Volt Switch. Pikachu counters with Quick Attack, sending it back, now switched with Sneasel, claws outstretched. The yellow rodent is faster, and lands an Iron Tail on the black weasel. It falls to the ground, fainted. Before Pikachu could do anything else, it turns around as it hears Kotei howl in pain.

A Peon had slashed at the boy. Drips of blood gushed out as Kotei was knocked off his feet, landing on the hard cement below, grimacing as he held his stomach.

"Pika!" Pikachu leaps to aid him, but is pushed away by a barrage of white needles, and was slammed against a tree. Two Peons seized it with multiple Electro Webs, pinning it up the trunk of the tree. Pikachu growled in anger.

"Well, that's done," they wiped their hands and turned to the other Peon, who was attempting to finish off Kotei, when an unexpected burst of water blasted him away. All turned their heads to the unknown attacker.

A white haired young man and a Dewott stood before them. He was slightly grinning at them, but his expression quickly warped to a sinister stare, "I just happened to be passing by when I see three adults ganging up on a kid. Shows how mature you are."

The Peons, confused at the kid's entrance, smirked, "Working alongside the thief, huh? No matter, we'll get rid of _you _and him!" A Peon placed his hand over the Joltik, "Extract!" It shook slightly, as energy went into the glove, but still ready to fight, "Volt Switch!" The electric spider shot forward, his master closely behind.

White haired boy took a stance, "Kenshin, Razor Shell!" As the rush of electricity closed in, the blue otter pulled out a shell while leaping up, Joltik passed below, giving way for Dewott to strike, knocking it away.

"Damn!" the Peon quickly jumps back and immediately throws a web. There was a loud _swoosh _as Hydro Pump met the attack, countering it. Clenching his teeth, the Peon moves in, this time flinging String Shots in hopes of snatching one of them.

Realizing the change in situation, Kotei rolls away from the Peon, who, noticing her captive's escape, fired several rounds of Poison Sting. The boy sidesteps as best as he could, barely dodging the attack as it grazed his shoulder. As he reached Pikachu, Kotei gripped his gloves, _Hope this works!_

"Iron Tail!"

At that moment, he felt something come out of his butt, but it was too late to check it out, when a rush of needles closed in from his back. He turned around, causing the attacks to be deflected away, "_Huh? What the hell is going on—," _and almost fainted when he saw a glowing tail emanating from his backside. However; before he could do anything else, a blow to the stomach sent him down.

"Playing tricks are we?" the Peon pointed the glove at him, "Too late! Now die!" Quickly rolling in place, Kotei directed focus towards his glutes, sending the needles back at the Peon. There was a scream before she fell down, needles protruding from her face as the poison seeped in and began to take effect, she started to shake.

Kotei stared on in terror as the Peon grasped her face to remove the Poison Stings, although she managed to pick some out, her body shook violently. She let out a painful scream before everything came to a stop.

He couldn't believe his eyes; he had actually killed someone, a living being. His black hair shook as he told himself no, _they _were trying to kill _him, _he was only defending himself.

A loud _swish _caused Kotei to look back. The Peon, with a scowl and sweat trickling down from his face, rapid fired Electro Balls from his hand. Kenshin the Dewott and trainer easily evaded these attempts, and closed in, "Swords Dance." Blades made of energy whirled around the otter, it snatched two, which transformed into shells.

The Peon was still attacking as he backed away, "Tch!" He couldn't believe a kid without the SPP system could be cornering him like this, especially against someone with type advantage! He flipped back, ready to extract one last time, when his opponent interrupted him.

"SPP…erase!" the gloves that the white haired boy were wearing emitted strange waves, as he grinned.

"What the…huh?" the Peon's gloves stopped working! He tapped it again with his hands, but it didn't seem to activate. At that instant, his eyes met Kenshin's, and with one powerful slash, the Peon was flung back, hitting a tree with a sickening crunch, before falling on the ground.

Kotei had been observing this the whole time with his jaw dropped. He had never seen a _real _fight before, considering the ones he were in were not really counted, but jumped when the white haired guy met his gaze.

Without a second thought, he bowed his head, "Um…thank you for saving me and my friends!" But before anything else could happen, he heard sirens from a close distance and looked up to see men and women in strange uniforms heading their way, at the very front way a man in a brown trench coat.

"International police," he held out his badge, "I'm a detective by the code name of Looker and we have been tracking Team Pneuma all the way here." He pointed a finger past his shoulder to where a few other Pneuma Peons were being handcuffed by the police and taken away, "Quite frankly, we are not surprised these events have occurred."

"International police…" Kotei muttered, "Wait! Then does that mean you know my mom?" He felt a sudden rush of joy on remembering his mother, but the feeling quickly dissipated at the thought of her dislike towards Pokemon.

Looker nodded, "Yes, if you happen to be Kotei Tsukuru, then I know Anata." As he said this, he noticed white haired kid as well, "And who might you be?"

Although he didn't respond immediately, he turned to Looker with an amused look, "Why should I trust you? I've never seen you before." For the first time, as the sky began darken, Kotei noticed that some areas of his hair were darker, almost black. Something was off about this guy, but he couldn't tell what.

Looker chuckled, "Of course, an important rule of being a detective is to keep your identity hidden, but…" his eyes narrowed and his facial expression became serious, "We don't know if you're working for Team Pneuma or not, so how do I trust you?"

Kotei felt like he had to say something, "No! He's a good guy, he saved me from those Pneuma guys and beat them!" he pointed towards the unmoving body of the male Peon, which was now being examined by the police. This sudden outburst surprised the white haired boy, but his expressions remained the same.

"Shotaro."

The other two looked at him in surprise. Kotei, now filled with uselessness after his efforts to defend the guy, were for nothing, sulked in astonishment and Looker smiled in relief as the name did not seem related to Pneuma in any way.

At that moment, everything came back to him and Kotei hurried over to the Pikachu, which was still strapped to tree. He pulled the strings apart and the yellow mouse was freed, albeit, it appeared to be angry though.

"Wow, thank you so much mister!"

Kotei turned around to see a police man removing Chou and Meme's bondage. A wave of relief swept through him as he had forgotten about those two, but at least they were safe. The bodies of the two Pneuma Peons were covered and transported away. The Pokemon, with no owners to command them, immediately took off into the trees, free at last.

Chou chimed with happiness, "Now they can live peacefully in the woods with their families!" She adjusted her large glasses as the huge butterfly landed on her face with joy, "See Meme? Our work does pay off!"

Kotei smiled, _At least she got what she wished for, even though it wasn't exactly the way they expected it._

Looker approached them with a serious look on his face, "I'm glad you're all safe, but I have bad news at the moment."

"What is it?"

"It looks like, Team Pneuma has sent us a personal message, directed mostly at you, Tsukuru."

Kotei pointed a finger at himself, "M-me?" He gulped and regretted taking those gloves, "What's it say?"

Both Chou and Kotei leaned in as Looker's Xtransceiver lit up. A two paragraph message was displayed in 3D before them. It read:

_Dear Victim of Unfortunate Circumstances,_

_It has come to our attention that the gloves you have taken not only belong to us, but they are also dangerous. If handled incorrectly, could lead to destroying property or worse, injury to another living being. We advise you to return those and the Pikachu as soon as possible._

_We will wait for you to return them at the same location we both are familiar with, the park trail. The exchange will be fairly simple, and no harm will be done to you. If you fail to comply with this request, we will not hesitate to eliminate you. Please respond back immediately via wireless communications. Thank you for your cooperation._

_Pneuma Headquarters,_

_Secretary of Order_

Kotei was suddenly overcome with nausea. He dropped down on the ground with a strange feeling of fear and worry. Thoughts raced through his head, _If I don't return them, then they won't hesitate to eliminate me…_ he looked at the chrome gloves on his hands, _If I just return these…then I won't have to worry about being in danger anymore…_

"Kotei, are you alright?" Chou knelt down beside him with concern in her eyes, "Are you sick too?"

"What's your decision, Tsukuru?" asked Looker, "We have to reply immediately."

Kotei smiled, "Why don't we just give them up?" The idea seemed very reasonable to him, "Then, we wouldn't have to worry about getting killed anymore, right?" But his answer sparked anger from his friend.

"I don't know what's going on exactly," Chou continued, "But if you're just going to give up on Pikachu like that, then I'm not interested in you anymore!" She crossed her arms and pouted. Meme followed suit, although it's tiny little arms tried to reach the other end, it ultimately gave up and just pouted.

"What?" her comment seemed to make him blush, "What do you mean by not interested anymore?"

"I mean…I thought you were a really cool person the moment you asked me if I was alright," she answered, "But now that I see you being a wuss and giving up your Pokemon, makes me sick."

The black haired boy turned to the detective for support, but was disappointed when he saw that Looker was busy speaking to a policeman. This was a very difficult decision for him. _Why does he, of all people, have to make such a big choice? _He started ruffling his own hair, frustrated at what he was supposed to do, when a soft brush of fur nudged his elbow. Kotei looked down to see Pikachu staring at him with seriousness in its eyes.

_That's right, _he thought. _If I return the gloves, then I have to give away Pikachu too…and I know how they treat Pokemon at Pneuma…and I won't be able to fulfill my dreams as a trainer…_

He got up, and as he did so, Chou looked up at him with surprise, but then smiled. Looker, noticing the air around the teenager change, walked back to hear the answer. Pikachu as well, remembered the many times it had witnessed this before…with _him. _

"So, what's your choice?" questioned Looker as he checked the Xtransceiver, "We only got a couple minutes."

Kotei took a deep breath, before letting out, "I've decided to keep the gloves and Pikachu." There was a sudden level of confidence in him that Pikachu noticed at that moment, almost the same as its first trainer.

Looker frowned, "Are you sure?" Quickly typing into his device, "We're talking about a criminal organization here that has taken over Kanto and Johto, while Hoenn is in process of being invaded as we speak."

"I'm…sure," he gulped.

The typing stopped as the detective hit the send button, the message would be sent automatically to Pneuma Headquarters, the belly of the beast one might say. The thought chilled Kotei to the bone, but the sudden slap on the back from Chou ruined the scary moment.

"Oh my gosh! You did it Tsukuru!" she bellowed. Even Looker who seemed unsure of this decision, chuckled. Kotei forced a smile as well, at least he got past the choosing part, and he felt so much better now. He noticed that a certain white haired person wasn't there with them.

"Looker, where's Shotaro?"

The man scratched his chin, "He said he didn't want to stick around much longer, the sight of Team Pneuma sickens him, or so he said."

Kotei frowned, he at least wanted to thank the guy properly for saving him, but at least he was pretty sure that he would see Shotaro around. Just then, the Xtransceiver rang, the message has been received.

Looker quickly brought it up, this time the message was smaller and more direct:

_Dear Unfortunate Victim of Circumstances,_

_We apologize that you do not understand the situation, but no matter, the gloves will be retrieved at all costs, forces have surrounded you at this very moment._

_Farewell_

"Huh?" As they read the last line, the atmosphere quickly changed to that of a more ominous one. Pikachu and Meme felt uneasy as they sensed danger nearing them. Before they could say anything, figures in chrome dropped from above.

Looker narrowed his eyes, _Pneuma…_

Everyone looked up to see flocks of Fearow and Skarmory flapping in the sky, Peons were floating as well, most likely by SPP, no doubt.

"They've been ready the whole time!" Looker shouted in panic. "I thought we'd secured the area!" He shot a look at his fellow police, but they only responded with a shrug. "Then what the hell is going on—," he was cut off when laughter came from above them.

Almost at the center of the bird Pokemon, a floating figure dropped to the ground with a _clang, _his metal spike boots hitting the hard cement. He was larger in size compared to most of the Peons, most likely due to the way his armor was shaped. It was heavier, but like Skarmory, speed was no problem. The black cape behind flowed in the wind, slowly, but steadily.

_Another one? _Kotei began to worry. This armored man was definitely part of Pneuma, but something about him was different compared to the Peons. He seemed more in command and powerful.

Looker grinned, "Well, I didn't expect _you _to come along."

The lips of the man curled into a smile, "I was sent here to eliminate you, and take the gloves back." He started to walk over to Kotei, who froze in place, not knowing what to do, when a sudden bolt of electricity caused the man to jump back. He jerked his head over to Pikachu, growling at him with fury, but the man was only amused. "Ah, you are here too? This is quite unexpected, almost déjà vu…"

"Pika!" the mouse sprung itself at him with Quick Attack, separating the distance between them in merely three seconds, then, immediately followed up with an Iron Tail. The man, already aware of its moves, waved his hand before him, creating a wall of light that bounced the Pokemon back, Protect.

"Pikachu!" Kotei rushed over to the furious Pokemon, "Are you alright?"

The armored man was impatient, "Just hand over the gloves now, boy. This little skirmish is getting us nowhere."

"But…"

However, Looker stepped in, "If I may, _general_, propose a negotiation on behalf of the International Police regarding the laws of the Pokemon world." The general looked at the detective and grinned.

"What do you have in mind, detective?"

Looker gave Kotei a strange glance, before turning back to the armored man, "According to law, it is stated that any attempts to injure or harm someone for the possession of an item, is forbidden and must only be resolved by Pokemon battle."

The general took some thought into this, "Then, I'll fight the boy." He raised his gloves at Kotei who stared at the man in terror, "You're just going to die? Well, this'll be easier than I thought."

"Wait!" The detective intervened once more, "The _challenger_ cannot decide on the battle as he/she chooses to, the opponent must accept. However," Looker took a deep breath before continuing, "I think that this is unfair for Kotei, if he would have a battle against someone around his age or on equal terms, then you may act through that."

"Hmm…" the armored man was considering the idea, then smiled. "That's a great idea! I actually would like to a mini Pokemon tournament of some sorts."

"What?" Looker was confused.

"I've been monitoring this boy and his life the day we identified him as the glove thief," he said. "I know all his friends and his allies, so…" crossing his arms in a leisure pose, "So far, he has three allies, one of which is already here," he pointed to Chou, who looked stunned, "One left after defeating my men, and the other goes to school with him."

Looker didn't like the sound of this. What was this guy thinking of? A mini tournament?

The man raised his arms, "Then it's settled! All four of them will be pit against my own four chosen trainers in a death match!" He laughed almost hysterically, as if this was some sort of game to him. "The deal of course, is simple. Whoever wins is deemed worthy enough to keep the gloves!" He turned to Looker, "How does that sound Mr. Detective?"

_What else could they do? _He thought hard about this. There was no other way out of this, either its die here or die trying. The detective nodded in confirmation.

"I'm glad to hear it. Now, before I take my leave," he turned to Kotei. "You will bring your four friends to this spot again tomorrow at sunset, I will introduce my fighters and give you the deadline of when the fights will begin, is that clear?" His deep voice forced the frightened boy to gulp and nod. With a wave, the general raised his hand, "Fly." And was lifted up into the air, the other Peons did the same. Soon, the skies were freed of the birds and only the vast dark blue remained.

Looker ran over to the shaking boy, "Kotei! Are you alright?"

The teenager suddenly snapped, "How the hell are _we _supposed to fight _them?" _Causing Chou and Meme to back away in surprise. Kotei covered his eyes, "I-I'm not even a good fighter, I wouldn't' stand a chance…it would have been better for them to just kill me here."

"Look, he said there'd be a deadline, so that means we have some time to get stronger," the detective assured him, "Although, I apologize for acting without your consent."

Kotei sighed, "I'm sorry for that, but…how are we supposed to fight them? I mean, I can see Shotaro being able to hold his own, but Chou, Kurogasa, and I? We'd get squashed!"

"What do you mean, I'll get squashed, huh?" the placed her hands on her hips, "I don't know what's going on here, but Team Pneuma hurts Pokemon and that's more than enough reason for me to fight them back, right Meme?" The Butterfree chirped in agreement. "And what about Pikachu? He trusts you too, but you're just gonna give him up? Gah! We're back to square one."

"Pika! Pika-pikachu!" the Pokemon shoved the useless boy while flailing its little hands to get through to him, "Pika, pika-pi, pikachu!" Although Kotei couldn't understand what it was saying, he felt a sudden urge of encouragement coming from the mouse.

Everyone stared as he got up and clenched his fists, "Okay, I'm going to go see them tomorrow…ahh my back!" He fell down while clutching his backside, prompting the others to help him up. "Thanks guys."

"What do we do now?" asked Chou.

"For now, go on home and get some rest, we don't have to meet them until sunset," he pulled out his Xtransceiver, "But I'll contact you as soon as we're ready, I need to your number." He exchanged numbers with the girl before she waved goodbye and took off with Meme.

"Oh no! My mom is gonna be so pissed at me for being late!" Kotei freaked out.

Looker chuckled, "Don't worry, she's still on duty, I got a call from her a while ago. She won't be back until 9:30."

"Wait, how do you know her?"

"We go _way _back. We were close, maybe too close…" the detective seemed to be deep in thought. When he noticed Kotei giving him a funny look, his face changed red instantly, "What I meant to say is! We were close friends! Nothing more!" he forced a laugh.

Kotei was still suspicious, "Right…" Although it didn't really surprise him. His mother would get called by officers quite often, usually to go on dates and such. The idea made his stomach churn.

* * *

***Neighborhood***

The neighborhood seemed peaceful with sounds of birds chirping and the sky as blue as can be, but the moment the sun would set, would be when everything changes. Kids played in the park that would soon become a dangerous place, if it already wasn't. To Kotei, who had expected his weekend to be another boring cycle of loneliness, was proven wrong, very wrong. He turned the corner as he searched around for a certain boy. His search seemed impossible, when a familiar voice startled him from above.

"Kotei!"

He looked up and saw Kurogasa sitting on top of a large stone wall, before jumping down in front of him.

"Kurogasa! Um…why were you up there?" he pointed to the wall.

The brown haired boy laughed, "That's my fence! I know, it's a weird fence, but I live up there!" Directing a finger to the house right behind it. "What's up? You look like you're trying to find something, need some help?"

"Well actually, I was looking for you…" he forced a smile.

Kurogasa pointed to himself, "Me?" A surprised look forming his face.

"Yeah, I've got something to tell you, and I don't guarantee that you will believe me. Heck! No one would, but please come with me."

"Well okay, is there something the matter?" he scratched his head in confusion.

Kotei shook his head, "Let's just say that it will determine our fates." He cringed as he continued, "We're meeting up at the park trail to discuss this."

* * *

***Park Trail (again)***

Looker just sat there. His eyes wandering around, trying to act interested, but the girl in front of him wouldn't leave him alone.

"So, do you keep your Pokemon in a prison, as well?" Chou leaned in close to examine his face.

He shook his head, "I do have one, but he likes being in his Poke-Ball—,"

The auburn haired girl interrupted, "What!? How could you? I thought you were with the law enforcement, an organization that is meant to help people and Pokemon alike! You monster!" She reached into her oversized green jumper and pulled out round pins that she handed over to Looker. "There! Now you understand?"

The detective observed one. _Say no to cruelty, free your Pokemon! _He sighed, "They're great, I'll make sure to wear one when I have the time." He stuffed them in his pockets, when he noticed two figures entering the park. One of them was Kotei.

"Tsukuru!" Chou and Meme approached them, "I've brought along a whole bucket load of pins and fliers to hand out to those Pneuma goons when they show up, that way, they'll most likely change their minds and leave, great idea right?" The Butterfree flapped her wings in agreement, just like its trainer.

Kotei chuckled nervously, "That's great, Chou, but I don't think they're really interested in changing views at the moment."

"What?" the girl was confused.

"Good, you're finally here," said Looker, he turned to Kurogasa, who appeared to be confused but smiled nevertheless, "You must be a friend of Mr. Tsukuru's, correct?"

Kurogasa nodded, "Yep," he looked around curiously, "But why are there so many cops here, and what are we going to do?"

Looker let out a deep breath, "Kotei, you should explain this to him, you're his friend after all."

The teenager shot a look at him in shock, "M-me? Um…okay," he turned to his friend, who was patiently waiting. "Kurogasa, this may seem hard to believe but, here I go…"

The brown haired boy seemed deep in thought, possibly trying to comprehend the very strange and unlikely story his friend had told him, everyone gasped in surprise when he laughed.

"So, you're saying you took some mittens from these New Man guys who are an organization that uses mittens and they want them back, but they're not really suitable for you, so they will try to battle you for them. Me, Short-Tempered Acvtivist, and another dude is going to battle them so we can keep the mittens, did I get it right?"

Everyone looked at him with concern, but Chou was the first to speak up, "That's exactly what we're trying to do! I thought those gloves were cute on Tsukuru, even though he's a thief, but I'm just here to promote Pokemon freedom."

Looker shook his head and Kotei face palmed at Chou's interpretation as well. It was obvious that both had no clue the seriousness of the situation they were put into, but at least they got the gist of it.

Kurogasa smiled, "Well, I'm up for a battle, so where are these guys?" He looked around, trying to locate any New Men in silver clothing and mittens, but there didn't seem to be anyone around except them and Looker's bodyguards.

"It's almost time," said the detective as he checked his Xtransceiver and looked up into the bluish-orange sky. "They should be here any minute now."

"What about Shotaro?" asked Kotei, noticing the white haired boy's absence. "Wasn't he chosen to be my um…ally?"

"I have his Xtransceiver number and he said that he wouldn't show up until the fight day," answered Looker.

Kotei frowned, "Oh, at least he hasn't abandoned us, I hope." Feeling relieved. At that moment, Pikachu looked left and right while charging up electricity, something was coming.

A black helicopter loomed over them as the propellers caused wind to shake the trees, leaves flying everywhere. The sliding door opened, revealing the same man from the day before. Kotei grit his teeth, _the general._

The flying contraption began to slowly descend towards the grown, forcing everyone to move out of the way as the wind became even stronger. At last, it landed on the grassy field and the spinning device slowed to a halt. The general hopped out.

"Well, I'm very satisfied that you managed to get here before us," he smiled. "But, there seems to be one missing among you. Did he flee in fright?"

Anger surged through Kotei, but he didn't have the courage to yell at the general, who noticed the boy's sudden change in expression. However; Looker filled in for Kotei's absence of words.

"Shotaro will join us on the day of the fight, so do not worry."

"No matter, the fight will still continue," with that, the general snapped his fingers and everyone gasped as three people stepped out of the helicopter.

The first was a very pale faced boy, with dilated eyes and a blackish-purple hood covered his head, there was a wide grin on his face. The second person was a young girl. Her skin was lightly tanned, even though she appeared Caucasian and her reddish-brown pixie-cut framed her heart shaped face, topped with a red beret. The last person to hop out was a young man. His hair was long and dark-blue, tied in a ponytail. A black and white cap covered his eyes, so only a shadow could be seen beneath them. All of them gave off a powerful aura that astonished Kotei.

The general was not finished, "Oh, come on out Paul, don't be so shy."

After a brief moment, the helicopter shook with movement and the last young man of the group jumped down, joining the others. His hair was purple and reached his shoulders. He was tanner than the girl, but not too dark-skinned. He appeared menacing as there was a serious frown on his face. He wasn't too happy.

"Finally, the players have all assembled," clapped the general. "I introduce to you, the Tetra; a group of trainers I have gathered around the world who displayed promising skills." He seemed satisfied with his own discovery, "Since I'm a busy man, let's get this over with, I will declare your opponents: Kurogasa Kururugi will face off against Amon." The black hooded boy exchanged glances with the brown haired teenager who smiled and waved.

Kotei gulped, he didn't know which one he would go up against, but hopefully it wasn't that purple haired guy named Paul.

"Chou Hayashi, your opponent will be Phi Sigmathian." Chou looked into the crowd curiously.

"Who is Phi?" she asked.

At that moment, the young girl stared at the other with a look of annoyance, "My opponent is _her? _Oh puh-lease, she looks like ditz."

"What?!" Chou was suddenly angry, "You better watch out, because I'm going to make you pay for that, right Meme?" The Butter nodded, and chirped angrily at the young girl, who looked away with disinterest.

The general cleared his throat, "Please don't interrupt, I know you're all eager to kill each other, but I haven't finished yet." He continued to read the holographic list, "Shotaro Daichi will fight against Drew Harenta."

The dark-blue haired boy looked through his opponent's crowd, to him, none of them looked threatening, but he knew better than to judge a book by its cover.

"I'm sorry Drew, but your opponent seems to have fled," the general chuckled. "Looks like you won't be fighting."

Drew closed his eyes and turned away, _What a disappointment, and here he expected to fight someone who would be equal to him, in terms of strength._

Kotei looked around, everyone else had been picked, besides him and…_Paul! _He glanced at the purple haired trainer, who shot him a look, causing Kotei to look away. Why did _he _have to get paired up with _him_.

"Finally, we will have the leaders of their respective groups: Kotei Tsukuru and Paul battle each other." With that , the general switched off his device, "There is nothing more to say, you know who your opponents are, the deadline is _three _days, we will meet here once more, train well, you will need it." He went back onto the helicopter, the others following suit. Before closing the door, he turned around once more, "Also, if _anyone _besides the chosen fighters interfere," He gripped his gloves, causing it to emit electricity. "We will not hesitate to crush you." The propeller started working up again, prompting everyone to shield their faces, until the wind died down, everyone was silent.

Looker spoke up, "Well, there you have it, we have three days to get ready, or we're screwed."

"That girl! Meme and I will show her whose boss!" the brown haired girl and Meme fist pumped each other, albeit, a little awkward one at that.

"My opponent's the creepy dude," Kurogasa laughed. "He seems like a nice guy, I'm pretty sure we can be friends, right Kotei? Huh, Kotei?" He turned to see the black haired boy on the ground with his hands in his hair.

"Gah! I'm against Paul, _the _Paul!" he recalled the many videos he watched on his Xtransceiver and how Paul was a tough trainer. Kotei was sure that he'd be beaten to a pulp.

Looker sighed, "Yeah, but that's really strange. Why would Paul join Team Pneuma, actually why would anyone join them?"

"That doesn't matter! I'm still going to die!" he began to scream like a girl. Pikachu, annoyed by the brat's idiotic behavior, slammed him with an Iron Tail. "OW! What was that for? I'm already in pain as it is!"

Pikachu shook its head, "Pika-pi…" It seemed to say that Kotei was being worthless, and that he needed to grow a pair. Meme chirped with laughter at Pikachu's remark.

"Okay, but _how _do we train in _three _days?"

The detective grinned, "Did you forget the Gym leaders of this region? I contacted them and told them about the our crisis and they said that they'd help you out in training."

Everyone gasped, "What?!"

"Yes, five of the eight gym leaders of the Kansai region have recognized the threat of Pneuma and are willing to help out. They temporarily abandoned their post at their gyms and are coming here to see us right now."

Kotei couldn't believe it. He would actually get to see _real _gym leaders of this region. It was one of his goals to battle them, but to be _trained _by them. What a great day! He felt confident somehow, although he and his friends would go up against tough enemies, a ray of hope seemed to have glowed within him.

_No, I won't let Pikachu get taken away…I just hope three days is enough to get us in shape…_

***End of Chapter 3***

* * *

**A/N: **Whew! This was one heck of a long chapter guys, but I managed to complete it. I hope everyone liked this chapter as we are heading into a new second "arc" as I would say. This "arc" is where the protagonists train before taking on Tetra, a group of what appeared to be powerful trainers. I'm pretty sure some of you want to learn more about the SPP system, well it'll all be explained in the oncoming chapters!

This chapter was OC central! I managed to shove in quite a few amount of OC's from the long list that I have with me. So I thank you for sending them in, they're great! Also, please don't worry yet, OC's are still being implemented into my story. I have already written a few more chapters with your OC's, so if you don't see them yet, well they will make their appearances, sooner or later.

**OC Cast for Chapter 3:**

**Kurogasa Kururugi— By Fenikkusumaru  
Debut: Chapter 1 Contact**

**Chou Hayashi— By TPNO (ThePikachuNerdOriginal)  
Debut: Chapter 2 Concealed**

**Shotaro Daichi— By Tendou Souji  
Debut: Chapter 3 Confrontation**

**Phi Sigmathian— By Ein Storm  
Debut: Chapter 3 Confrontation**

**Drew Harenta— By TOLM (TheOriginalLegendaryMaster)  
Debut: Chapter 3 Confrontation**

Someone mentioned that I should put **romance **into the story, should I? I mean, I was going to, but it wasn't really a **solid **romance due to the nature of this story. If you guys want there to be some sort of romance in the plot, please let me know. Also, tips on how to do romance as well.

Thanks to everyone for their support and reviews, please continue to read and let me know what you think! And I apologize for my sudden decision in a three-five day schedule, but it's easier for me!


	5. Coaches

Hello everyone! It's been fun writing, and I'm glad to say; Welcome to the second arc of the Catalyst series, The Tetra Arc! (The first arc was short, so it doesn't say much. Actually most of my arcs will probably be puny)! Hope you guys like this!

Special Thanks to **MyNoseAgreesWithMe** for the awesome C word chapter titles!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon. Never have and never will (unless I get enough money to buy it, but that's never going to happen.)**

* * *

***Chapter 4 Coaches***

The room was large and circular in design. Touch screen computers lay strewn around the room with people in white lab coats typing quickly onto their virtual keypads. Cords of many colors trailed the metallic floors of the silver colored laboratory and were connected to huge tubes filled with electric Pokemon as a power source. It was quite loud with the chatter of researchers, maintenance workers, and Peons alike.

At the center of the room was a control desk, where a man with spiky brown hair in the same lab coat stood, clicking and typing simultaneously. He turned around as the sound of the sliding doors behind him opened up. Three people clad in chrome armor and black capes approached his desk.

"Generals, I'm glad you answered my call," said the brown haired man. "The creation process is close to completion." His tone was that of self-satisfaction and pride at his own achievement, which drew a couple of the generals to grunt in annoyance. Although he was a genius, his cockiness ticked some of them off.

The shorter among the generals spoke, a woman's voice "Professor, we have finalized the strategy for Hoenn's invasion. However; General Duro has informed us of a potential threat to our organization."

"What threat might this be?" his voice quickly changed from that joy to curiosity.

"Well," she operated her glove device, a holographic screen flew out. "Apparently, he's been having trouble with a child who has a pair of SPP gauntlets in his possession. We have fully analyzed this boy and know everything about him."

The professor rubbed his chin, "And why hasn't Duro retrieved them yet?"

The woman looked to her other comrades for support, knowing that the professor would not be satisfied with the answer, but they appeared to avoid her gaze, so she mustered up the courage to answer him.

"We apologize for our foolishness and incapability to assess this situation, but Duro explained to us that he is playing a little "game" with the boy," she winced beneath her helmet in preparation for his angry outburst, but was surprised when he remained calm.

He was deep in thought, "This _game, _what is Duro's plan to achieve from allowing this?"

"The general has assembled four trainers around the world and has offered them each of their desires in exchange for defeating the boy and his allies. The battle will take place in three days." Once again, the three generals tensed their bodies as they anticipated the professor's anger would get the best of him.

To everyone's astonishment, the professor laughed, "Interesting, I look forward to the outcome, Duro's always been the _fun _one out of you lot, but this little pest's involvement in our affairs is the least of my worries." He brought up a large screen before them. An image of a dark-blue haired girl appeared before them. She appeared to be hiding behind a wall, glancing to her left where Peons were patrolling. "I knew she would eventually show up and could cause quite a hassle for us, so…" he tapped his fingers, "I want you guys to get rid of her."

"She must be attempting to rescue the captives," another general, this time a male added.

"But how, Sol? The security at the Johto HQ is top notch!" bellowed the female in disbelief. "Even if she managed to get _in _the prisoner's area, she will never be able to get back out."

General Sol frowned, "Don't underestimate one of the legendary trainer's comrades. She has a very impressive coordinator record and could possibly produce illusions that even the Admins would have difficulty with."

The female general grunted in response, _That whore, she will get what's coming for her._

"If you are all done with your little conversation, then I suggest you get going."

All three generals saluted before their researcher and left the room. The man still had many doubts as to how the girl could have infiltrated the penitentiary, but the generals would get rid of her. He picked up an old picture frame that sat behind his PC and looked at the photo. Three faces clad in white lab coats smiled back at him, one of them, being himself.

He looked at the older man with a frown, _Gramps, I'll be a better researcher than you'll ever be. Your times of fame are over. _Laughing, he switched over to the younger, yet aged man. _Oh my friend Daichi, if only you would have listened to me, but damn! _He slammed his fist onto the counter, prompting the scientists to turn around in curiosity.

"Sir, is something the matter?"

He shook his head, "No, I'm fine." Angrily shoving the photo back into the corner, he took a breather, before grinning almost maniacally. Sometimes, that particular picture made him want to kill people. It was even odd to him, why he even kept it in the first place, but it reminded him of one thing that he must never forget.

_Daichi, where have you hid those gauntlets?_

* * *

***Denoval Area***

_Three days. _

The thought coursed through Kotei's head as he strode across the loud street from the monorail station. This part of the city was even more lively than the other locations due to the gym. Trainers and Pokemon alike stalked the sidewalks in anticipation for their next badge, of course, Kotei knew that the real gym leader was absent from the gym and a substitute has taken over. Looker and the gym leaders had arranged the meeting to be taken place at the abandoned gym on the other side of the street due to the immense amount of trainers that would enter the other gym, possibly hindering their training.

He turned the corner and was surprised to see that this end of the town was more vacant and rundown. Although there were a few people wandering around, no one was really interested in this area except for shortcuts and gang fights, especially bikers.

Kotei looked at his Xtransceiver map and nodded as he was in front of the right building. It was a large brown complex with broken windows and a tilted sign that read _Gym, _but in faded letters. He pushed through the double doors and entered the building. What he saw amazed him.

The walls of the large room were covered in webbed mirrors, not having been washed for many years. Hardwood floors had small holes scattered around, while dust rested on the surface of the wood. Only the light shining through from the glass windows provided the light to room as it shined on the floors to be reflected into the whole area, allowing Kotei to see. He noticed a table and two chairs in the corner, a figure was seated in one of the iron foldup chairs.

"Mr. Tsukuru, how fortunate for you to have come this early," Looker set down his newspaper and blew smoke out of his mouth. The detective quickly realized that he was smoking in front of his colleague's son and attempted to tap out the cigarette. "I'm sorry Kotei, do you mind?"

The boy shook his head, "No, it's fine. Mom does it all the time, although she smokes outside to keep the house smelling fresh." This caused the man to relax, but Kotei knew if his mom found out about someone smoking around her son, she would flip a b*tch.

"Great," placed it to us lips again, before blowing out another breath. "The gym leaders should be here any minute now, and so should your friends."

"Kurogasa and Chou too?"

Looker nodded, "Of course, they've got no choice. I don't mean to sound harsh, but due to their involvement with you, Miss Hayashi and Mr. Kururugi are just as much involved as you are."

Kotei looked down at his feet, "It's kinda my fault for dragging them into this," he tapped them, causing the dust to blow away.

"Well, be glad you're not abandoned by them. Although, I still think they have yet to realize the seriousness of this situation." As the detective was lighting up another stick, the doors behind them creaked. Both turned their heads to see Kurogasa, Chou, and Meme entering with uncertain expressions on their faces. When Chou noticed Kotei, her face beamed with a big smile.

"Hi there, Tsukuru! Guess what?" she reached into her large pockets and took out a pin. "Since our opponents are called Tetris or whatever, I decided to make a name for our little group." The pin was placed into Kotei's hands, _PKMN Rescuers, _it read.

He didn't know how to respond. The pin wasn't all that bad in design, but…the name was just too cheesy. He looked up to see Chou's eyes gleaming with excitement. She was really proud of her work and it showed, so he decided not to hurt her feelings. "It's really cool."

"Really?" her eyes enlarged to the point of the veins turning red. "Even Kurogasa thinks they're good too, right?" She looked at the cheery brown haired boy who nervously smiled as he pointed to the pin that rested on his golden T-shirt. Kotei and Kurogasa knew what each other were thinking.

"Well, that's everyone…since Shotaro isn't going to show up until we fight them," said Kotei.

"Actually," Looker pointed out. "Mr. Shotaro contacted me this morning, letting me know that he was interested in meeting the gym leaders first."

Kotei was surprised, "Really? That's great, when is he going to meet us?"

Looker checked his device, "I don't know, but he should be showing up soon, I have given him this location. The gym leaders however…" before he could finish the doors flipped open once more, revealing five figures in the sunlight. They entered the room, the sun faded as the doors closed behind them. Kotei's jaws dropped while Chou was glaring at them. Kurogasa only smiled and the Butterfree and Pikachu only watched with sudden interest.

_It's…really them!_

At the front was a tall man in a blue suit and black spiky hair, covered by his blue fedora that seemed to resemble ears. A woman in green with her hair tied in a pigtail that laid over her shoulder stood next to him and beside her was a short young girl with long pinkish hair tied into pigtails, one circular, the other loose. Behind them was a young man in a red shirt sporting red hair tied into a pineapple cut. Lastly, a woman with black hair and clothes stared at them. Her clothing style appeared to be a gothic dress and she wore a white ribbon on the side of her head.

The detective stood up and walked over to them, "Well, I'm glad you took the time to get here."

"It's not a problem," smiled the blue man. "We were actually interested to see the kids." He peered over Looker's shoulder to see the three teenagers, looking back at them. "They certainly look like they need to get in shape."

"Ha! They look like a bunch of sissies!" howled the red one. "Even the girl looks tougher than the black haired one!" Both him and the pink haired girl snickered, but the blue one raised a hand towards them, causing them to quiet down.

"I apologize for their childish behavior," he cleared his throat. "You see, we've only been gym leaders for two years. The original ones resigned their positions, leaving us in charge."

"Riley, I think it's time we get started, we only have three days you know," Looker pointed out. He turned to the kids. "These are your mentors, be respectful and listen to them carefully. You will each be assigned to one. Riley?" He allowed the leaders to step forward to examine their soon-to-be students.

The green haired woman spoke first, "I feel as if the one who owns the Butterfree would cope well with me. I love bug Pokemon." She extended her hand out. The butterfly Pokemon seemed hesitant at first, but slowly fluttered over to the woman and landed on her arm. She stroked its wings and it chirped with joy.

"Vreeeh!"

Chou was amazed. Meme would never approach a stranger, let alone have contact with them unless they were her own friends. This woman obviously possesses years' worth of Pokemon training and charisma. No wonder she was a gym leader.

"Wow! You're amazing! Meme would never let a stranger touch her."

The woman smiled, "Meme is her name? How lovely," she continued to stroke the Pokemon's wings. "It certainly has experience, but it lacks the gracefulness needed to be successful in the battlefield. I will teach you how to do that."

Chou brightened up, "Oh my gosh! Really? I'm Chou by the way!" she threw her hand out and the woman shook it.

"Cheryl, nice to meet you."

As the first trainer was chosen, Riley closed his eyes and concentrated on the two boys before him. He directed his hands at them, both hands swaying back and forth.

Kurogasa leaned over to Kotei, "Hey Kotei, what is doing?" he whispered.

The black haired boy shrugged, "I have no clue, but he must be sensing something."

"I'm measuring the aura of which is most promising between the two of you, and…" his hands swayed back and forth, until it finally stopped. "You are to be my student." He opened his eyes to see that his hands were pointed at Kurogasa, who had a sort of confusion in his eyes.

"Uh, me?" he pointed to himself.

Riley nodded, "Yes, I sense a potential innate ability to manipulate aura from within you, if you learn to shape it, you can become a powerful aura guardian."

"That actually sounds pretty cool," the youth smiled. "I've heard about aura and stuff, but didn't really know you could become one."

Kotei turned to the three remaining leaders, _Which one am I going to get? _He looked from left to right. _The little girl seems like she would be easy to train with, the gothic lady seems a little too gloomy for me, and the hotheaded one seems very rude…gah! Who am I going to get?_

"You fool!"

Kotei looked up to see the red headed one pointed at him with a smirk on his face, "Me?"

"Yeah, you. Who else would be the fool in this room, fool?" he growled. Pikachu squealed in laughter. It liked this guy.

"Um…" Kotei gulped. "What about me?"

The hothead sighed, "You have a long ways to go, fool."

Kotei remembered that there was only three days left before they would have to face the Tetra, face _Paul. _

"Then please teach me!" he bent his down. "I don't want to get my a** kicked and let my friends die, please make me stronger!"

The other pushed the boy down, "Okay, okay! Just don't act all fluffy and swirly around me fool, got it fool?" Kotei nodded in response.

"That just leaves Shotaro," Looker said.

"You were saying?"

Everyone turned to the doors as they opened for the third time. The white haired boy casually walked in with a smile on his face, accompanied by his Dewott, Kenshin. Out of all of the people in the room, Kotei was the most eager to see him. After all, Shotaro saved his life and took off without even saying goodbye.

"Um…I'm glad you made it, Shotaro," muttered Kotei, but immediately slammed his head, _Idiot! That sounded so uncool, now Shotaro's gonna think I'm a lame a**! _But to his surprise, Shotaro waved and gave him an amused grin, possibly from the former hitting himself.

Looker walked over to the late arriver, "Well, it looks like everyone is here," he looked at the remaining two gym leaders, "Which one of you will mentor him?"

The younger girl stared at Shotaro, eyes gleaming with interest, _Oh my gosh, he's so cute! _

Shotaro noticed the girl's gaze and glanced at her, prompting her to blush in reaction, but he paid no heed to her desires. However; he noticed another feeling of being watched from the side and turned to see the black haired girl staring at him, almost _into _him. He felt strange, _Could she see through him? _He faked a smile and broke the silence, "Well then, who's my mentor?"

The little girl was about to speak, when the gothic girl cut her off, "I will mentor Shotaro."

It almost felt like her heart had shattered into a million pieces, she grasped it dramatically and knelt on the ground in an intense pose, _Mira's heart…has no meaning… _However; Riley knelt down beside her and asked her if she was alright, she looked up, meeting his blue eyes. Her heart seemed to reform and melt as she gazed into the sparkling face of the aura master, his eyes a piercing blue, _How romantic…._

"That's it then," he dropped her on the ground as he stood up. "Everyone has their own mentors, we don't have much time, so let's get going."

Everyone besides the gothic girl, Shotaro, and the heartbroken Mira left, ready to begin their training. The black haired girl approached Shotaro, who was sitting on the floor with Kenshin, both looked up as she neared them.

"I'm Marley, I believe we haven't properly introduced ourselves," she held out a hand, he shook it.

"Shotaro, pleased to meet you," he smiled.

Marley observed this boy and tried to decipher something from him, even though he appeared to be friendly. A boy his age shouldn't have whitish colored hair without abnormal circumstances. She narrowed her eyes, _Something in the past…something to be ungrateful for._

* * *

***Forest Trail***

Chou took a flier from her stack and pinned it onto one of the trunks of the trees. She had brought a large amount of them for her first training exercise in hopes of changing the minds of even a few passerby's, if that's what it took. Cheryl, who was at the lead, noticed this.

"What are you doing, Chou?" she was quite curious.

Chou beamed, "Saving Pokemon from cruel owners." She took another flier and nailed it onto another tree nearby. "Don't you think Pokemon should be free? They don't deserve to be cramped into their Prison-Balls or not treated fairly, humans and Pokemon should live together with equal rights." The green haired woman's eyes widened in surprise, but gradually formed a smile.

"I take it you're very passionate about Pokemon?"

As she adjusted her huge glasses, the girl nodded, "Pokemon are one of the most amazing creatures in this world, I don't think they should be treated like slaves." Then, Chou too was curious about Cheryl's experience as a gym leader. "What's it like…I mean, being a gym leader? It's your job isn't it?"

Cheryl looked up into the sunny morning sky, "It's a very…do you want me to be honest with you?" Chou nodded, eager to hear the woman's story, so she continued. "Quite frankly, it's boring and at times, very tiresome. Trainers these days don't have much respect for gym leaders as they are only attracted to the badge we provide them." She sighed in disappointment. "How did it ever come to this?"

"That's very rude! I mean, I wasn't originally from Kansai. My hometown was Saffron City in Kanto, but I had to move away because of the air pollution. Yet, it's true… I hated the people there, they had no respect for each other and only wanted to win, win, win!"

"I see, that's why you decided to move here," Cheryl said thoughtfully. "But there isn't much of a difference here either. You can't really meet any decent trainers these days." She noticed Chou starting to cough, but gradually escalated to violent hacks. Cheryl immediately came to her side, "Are you okay?"

The girl waved her hands, "It's…okay…I've had this…cough for years." She took out a bottle of pills and swallowed them. "Ever since I lived in Saffron, the fuses were very bad for my lungs, almost like secondhand smoking, that's why I moved away to Viridian before coming here." Her coughing had begun to die down, the woman sighed in relief.

"Thank goodness," she wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead. "I was afraid that I might have had to cancel today's training."

"No, don't do that! I want to get stronger so I can show _that _girl who's boss!"

"Vreeh…" Meme fluttered onto her trainer's shoulder with concern. She knew more than anyone else how bad Chou's condition could get if she hadn't taken the medications.

Chou tried to change the subject, "Alright! I'm fine, so what are we going to work on?"

"Hmm…" Cheryl observed the young girl and her Butterfree. There was definitely determination in this girl's eyes, she isn't one to stand still if Pokemon are treated poorly, but that could also lead to her destruction. If she cannot control her emotions, she won't be able to become a skilled trainer. "How about a battle first?"

"Huh?" Chou looked confused as the green haired trainer reached into her cardigan and pulled out a Poke-Ball. "What? I thought you were a gym leader who cared about her Pokemon?" Although she didn't want to express her anger at this person, she couldn't help but wince as the gym leader released her Pokemon.

"Go! Mothim!" as the spherical device was thrown into the air, a light erupted out, forming a large moth with yellow and orange wings. Cheryl gave Chou a serious look, "If you think Pokemon shouldn't be treated this way, then prove it to me!"

Meme, knowing what was going on, flew up into the air to meet the moth, ready for battle. However; Chou wasn't ready for this, she had never been thrust into a battle without agreeing with the opponent, "Why all of a sudden?"

Cheryl however, wasn't paying attention, "If you have time to talk during combat, then this should be a breeze for you! Mothim, Silver Wind!"

The Mothim flapped its wings fiercely, creating a gust of sparkly wind that threatened to engulf the trail area. Chou's eyes widened in surprise as the Pokemon wasn't directing its attack at Meme, but Chou herself. She was lifted off her feet as the powerful wind blasted her a few feet from where she had been standing.

"Ahhh!" she screamed in pain as she landed on the hard grass.

"Vreeeh!" the Butterfree flew over to her trainer, but was not aware that a second attack had come from behind, slamming into the Pokemon and sending her onto the ground as well, right next to Chou. "Vreh…"

"Meme!" Chou nudged her friend, but looked up to see Cheryl standing before her, with a serious expression. This woman wasn't called a gym leader for nothing and Chou knew for some reason, that Cheryl wouldn't go easy on her. Just like how she wouldn't go easy on trainers who challenged her gym.

"If you were up against the real Team Pneuma, you and Meme would have been killed, now get back up."

* * *

***Kurogasa***

Kurogasa curiously looked around the rocky area where Riley had taken them to. There were large boulders everywhere and rubble that littered the ground. He leaned over the edge of the waterfall and gulped. It would be a twenty mile drop from this height. His attention diverted to Riley, when the aura guardian called out to him.

"What is it, Riley?"

Riley closed his eyes and took in the air, "I come to train at this spot every week. Although it isn't the same as Iron Mountain back home, it usually suffices." He opened them again, revealing a blue that seemed to emit a strange light. "So, you wish to learn the ways of the aura guardian?"

Kurogasa scratched his head, "Well, didn't you force me to do this? I mean, I know about aura, like reading minds and sensing others, but I didn't know I could become an aura guardian."

The aura master chuckled, "Not everyone is capable of having the ability to use aura, only a select few in this world can, you and I. There have been others, but many of them are long gone." His face then became serious, "There was only one person I knew, who could do so. Although he never chose the path of aura, he could have become more powerful than I, if he would have trained."

"Really, and who is this person?" asked Kurogasa.

Riley smiled, "It wouldn't matter if I told you his name," His tone dropped to a darker gloom, "I…I can't sense his aura anymore…"

"Oh…I didn't mean to ask you that. I'm sorry about that, I know what it feels like to have someone you care about just disappear one day."

"Well then, we are on the same page, are we not?" the aura guardian stood up from the boulder he was sitting on and reached into his suit, "We don't have too much time on our hands, so let's begin!" The Poke-Ball was tossed out, releasing a blue bipedal dog, the black appendages behind its head appeared to resemble a head band. "Lucario!"

The Pokemon shifted into a stance with its eyes closed, and placed its arms together extended out, as if it was performing a dance. Finally, its eyes opened up and stared into the teenager's, who almost jumped back in surprise.

"Wow, you have a Lucario?" Kurogasa gazed at it in wonder.

The guardian nodded, "Lucario are natural aura guardians. I have been with him ever since he was a Riolu, training as one, our auras are technically one in the same."

"Wait? You said Riolu, right?"

Riley nodded in response, "Yes, why?"

"Well, I happen to have one as well. He's one of my best buds," Kurogasa laughed.

The guardian's eyes widened, "Is that so? Please, let Lucario and I see him. This training will go smoother than I thought."

Kurogasa took out his Poke-Ball and threw it up, "Come on out!" As the light faded, a smaller bipedal blue dog stood next to him. It smiled up at its owner, before turning to see the other two strangers.

"Good," Riley examined the Pokemon with a smile, "Although Riolu cannot use the power of aura, they can still sense aura around them. However; yours hasn't been trained to do so and we must begin now." He reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a white bandana. It was tied around the Pokemon's head, which caused it to look left and right as it couldn't' see anymore. He did the same to Kurogasa.

"Uh, what are you doing?"

Riley finished, "The first step of aura training, sensing things around you. If you are to face an invisible or illusionist opponent, then aura is very handy." He tightened the bands around them and stepped back, while picking up a pebble. "Try to locate the aura of this rock that I'm about to throw at you."

"Okay! Got it!" Kurogasa smiled under his headband, but quickly frowned afterwards. "But…how do I do that—OW!" The rock hit his head causing him to rub it. Riolu did the same as another pebble thrown by Lucario prompted it to bark in frustration.

The guardian and his Lucario shook their heads in disappointment, "We have a long way to go…"

* * *

***Kotei***

"AHH!"

Kotei ran as fast as he could through the woods as another Hyper Beam erupted right beside him. Dirt and grass exploded from the ground, raining down on him and Pikachu, who was also scurrying next to the boy. Some debris got in the teenager's mouth, as he coughed and choked from the damp, gritty taste. As another blast closed in on them, the yellow mouse countered with a bolt of lightning, halting both attacks on impact. Behind them, Buck and his Claydol were levitating towards the two at a fast pace. The gym leader had his hands behind his back while sitting with his legs crossed as they gained in on the two escapees.

"You're such a fool, Kotei," he yawned and signaled Claydol once more. It raised one of its arms and fired another beam of energy. The blast collided with a nearby tree, disintegrating it into splinters and leaves. "Aren't you gonna fight me back, fool?"

Kotei choked on his words, "I…can't or I'll die!" His breathing had become panting and sweat flew off of his face.

"That's too bad fool," the red haired trainer stretched and tapped his Pokemon, "Claydol, let's get this over with. Use Psychic." At his command, the black doll-like Pokemon's head started to spin rapidly as blue light emanated from it.

The boy and Pikachu were lifted off their feat, "Wha—ahh!" They were thrown onto a large tree trunk, before falling onto the grassy ground. "Ow…" he rubbed his back as it began to ache. He looked over to see Pikachu had already taken a fighting position, electricity running through its red sacs.

Buck and Claydol stopped before them, "It looks like your Pokemon has guts, unlike its trainer." He began to laugh mockingly, but Pikachu seemed to disapprove of the gym leader's last remark. An electric shock rushed at him, as it closed in on Buck, Claydol leaped in front and took the attack. Due to electricity's ineffectiveness to ground, the bolt merely did anything as the doll Pokemon levitated without a slight indication of pain.

"Pika?" Realizing that its attacks were doing no damage, Pikachu stopped.

"Fool, that's all ya got?"

Pikachu turned to Kotei and yelled at him to get up, causing the boy to look at the yellow rodent with panic. "What can I do?"

Buck was ticked off at the brat's unwillingness to put himself in harm. Deciding that the best way to get the teen to fight back was to place more pressure on him, Buck ordered his Claydol to go for another attack. Since they didn't have much time left either, every moment of training was precious to them.

"Claydol, Earth Power!"

The Pokemon placed both arms onto the ground and shot a beam of energy, creating large holes. At that instant, the grass beneath them began to shake violently as the earth erupted from below. Although Buck and Claydol were safe with levitation, Kotei and Pikachu weren't so lucky as a crater opened up beneath them and blasted them into the air.

"Are you serious! This isn't training, it's murder!" Arms flailing wildly, Kotei and Pikachu were pulled down by gravity and landed with a hard _thud _on the ground. He groaned as bruises and scratches were all over his body.

Buck laughed, "This is f**king hilarious, fool!"

Grunting in frustration, the boy looked towards his yellow companion for help. Pikachu motioned for him to use the gloves, but Kotei did so with hesitation. He knew that using the gloves would be harmful to Pokemon, even though he used them once to battle the Peons, but at this rate, Buck would totally wipe the floor with them.

Taking a deep breath, Kotei slid on the smooth metallic gauntlets and gripped them. He slowly placed them onto Pikachu as he said the one word that would work, "Extract." The electric mouse tried hard to not be shaken by its energy being absorbed. As he finished, the Pokemon panted in relief. Buck noticed this action and smiled.

"So, you're willing to fight huh?" Rolling his arms in anticipation, the gym leader pointed his finger at the duo, "Claydol, Hyper Beam!" At his command, the Pokemon raised both arms and fired one powerful beam of light.

Both foresaw the attack and swiftly moved out of the way with Quick Attacks. Before Buck could do anything else, he caught a glimpse of Pikachu from above, Iron Tail ready to slam down. Claydol rushed in front, blocking its trainer from harm, but was slightly knocked back from the impact.

Buck grinned, _An attack like that isn't going to do any good…huh? _

He noticed that Pikachu was smiling as if it had done something right, then it hit him. The red haired trainer quickly turned around to see a rush of black pass by him, before he felt a slight pain in his side.

_Damn that kid!_

Kotei's Quick Attack had hit the gym leader spot on, but wasn't enough to delude his next attack as the Claydol sent a wave of Psychic energy at him. Pushed back, the teenager tried to regain air with another speedy attack, causing him to hit a tree, but not enough to damage him.

"Pika!" Closing in on the gym leader, Pikachu's tail glowed as he prepared for another strike. At that instant, Claydol appeared again and the rodent smiled. Its plan was to trick the other so that the attack would further weaken the defensive Pokemon. "Pi-kaaa!" It flipped down, the powerful tail attack would surely deal considerable damage…

"Explosion!"

"Pika?" All it saw was a bright flash in front of it as the light grew, until it lit up the entire area. Pikachu had no time to think. The blast was so powerful, that trees within thirty meters of the attack were snapped at the trunks.

Buck smiled as he safely floated in midair, but began to descend as Claydol's attack would have drained all of its energy. He dropped to the charred grounds of the impact zone, and strode over to his Pokemon. Its pinkish lensed eyes now closed. "You did good my friend, now rest." It was returned to its Poke-Ball.

He noticed that the Pikachu was nearby and fainted as well, but the boy was out of site. Only a coward would have left his Pokemon to die in a fight. As he knelt down to carry the Pikachu back to the others, he heard a scream from behind. He quickly turned and his jaws dropped.

"VOLT TACKLE!"

Kotei was encased in a light as he ran towards Buck at a tremendous speed. His body was almost outlined, with his arms outstretched, he looked pissed as well. The gym leader's eyes widened as the boy was closing in, but smiled at the last minute as he quickly took a step to the side. Kotei did not expect this and charged head first into one of the broken trees, causing another mini explosion upon impact.

"You still have a long ways to go, fool…"

* * *

***Abandoned Gym***

"Ow, ow, ow!" Kotei winced as Mira placed a Band-Aid on one of his cuts. She was annoyed by this kid's lack of patience and endurance. How could _he _possibly hope to take on the Tetra if he was such a baby? She sighed as the last one was taped over his cheek.

"All done."

Kotei wiped the tears off his eyes, "That really hurts you know?"

"Are you freaking serious? It's just a freaking Band-Aid, even Mira doesn't whine about it and Mira has endured some painful injuries."

They stopped as the others entered the room. Kotei noticed that Kurogasa and Chou had injuries as well, but they weren't complaining, in fact, they look like they had almost enjoyed them. The only two people who weren't in the room with them were Marley and Shotaro.

Chou hurried over to Kotei, "How was your training, Tsukuru?"

"Um…great I guess," he muttered. Kotei felt bad that he was the only one getting these treatments, when the other two weren't even mentioning them. He looked over to Kurogasa who was smiling as always. Not even Kurogasa seemed fazed by the black eye and cuts on his face.

Looker cleared his throat to get everyone's attentions, "Since you all have school tomorrow, I cannot let you stay here any longer, but if you have any questions for me, please ask them right away."

Kotei raised a hand, "Actually, I have one…" He noticed that everyone head's now turned to him, making him feel uncomfortable, but he went on. "Do you know anything about these gloves?" Pointing to the chrome gloves that he was wearing.

The detective sighed, "Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you kids about those." Stuffing his hands in the pockets of his brown coat, Looker took a deep breath before continuing. "After extensive research by our scientists, we have learned that Team Pneuma has named them SPP gloves."

"But why are they called that?" asked Kotei, who was quite curious.

"Because those gloves are created for one function, to extract SPP from Pokemon."

Everyone looked at each other with confused expressions, wondering what SPP meant.

The detective continued, "SPP stands for _Soul Power Point, _or you would say the attacks or moves of a Pokemon. Normally, in a regular trainer battle, PP or Power Points are used up as the Pokemon battles, but SPP literally forces a specific amount out of the Pokemon and into the gloves, allowing its trainer to utilize."

"Then why do Pokemon die if the gloves are used on them?" Kotei knew wanted to know this answer more than anyone. He recalled when he first met Pikachu and how those Pokemon just stopped moving in his first encounter with Pneuma. The memory sickened him to the core.

"That's because SPP isn't the trainer using their own energy to attack, they're using the abilities directly from the Pokemon themselves. Each use of SPP from the gloves is equivalent to two times the amount used by a Pokemon. Imagine if the user of the gloves extensively abuse the system." Looker closed his eyes, knowing what is to happen if that were so, "The Pokemon is basically forced to attack over and over again, without it doing anything. Constant strain will cause it to die from fatigue and tiredness, without affecting the user at all."

Chou placed her hands over her mouth, "That's terrible! Who would do such a thing?"

"That fool Kotei would," said Buck.

The messy brown haired girl shot Kotei a glance, causing him to sit up. "You would do that? How could you?"

"I-I…I'm sorry…" Shameful of his own actions, the black haired boy put his head down. He had never intended to do that to Pikachu, but it was the only for him to survive.

Looker intervened, "Now stop, don't blame Kotei for that. Team Pneuma has been utilizing this system for years, they're the ones who should be blamed. They don't even feel remorse after doing so."

Chou took a deep breath and nodded. She remembered what Cheryl told her during the training exercise, and perhaps the green braided gym leader was right. Maybe Chou herself was a little too on the emotional side and she needed to control them, but her flames of hatred for Pokemon abuse would never flicker.

"Well then, it's getting late. I suggest you get a good rest and go to school tomorrow, you have another day of training coming up." The detective stood up and patted his coat, before leaving out the door, bidding everyone farewell. Just as Looker had left, the gym leaders said their goodbyes to their respective students and took their leaves as well. Leaving the three kids and Pokemon in the old building.

Kurogasa checked his blue Xtransceiver, "I guess I better get going too." Slinging his backpack over his shoulder, the cheery teen waved a hand before taking off. "See you, Kotei, Chou."

"Me too. Meme and I need to go home."

Now that everyone had gone and he was by himself, Kotei looked at Pikachu, which returned his gaze and smiled. Turning off the remaining lights of the rusty complex, he closed the doors and walked off into the starry night. It was strangely warm for the fall season, but was quite welcoming for the boy and Pokemon.

* * *

***Shotaro***

Lights flickered on as Shotaro stepped into his apartment home, Kenshin the Dewott striding close beside him. The apartment room was quite luxurious, with a flat screen T.V. and polished hardwood floors. A large coffee table sat between two leather sofas, but papers and magazines were clattered all over them. Although Shotaro had inherited a fortune from his parents before they died, he never dared touch it. The money, too him, was a reminder of what had happened years ago.

The boy dropped his bag and walked over to the large set of sliding windows, stepping out into the breezy evening. Often, the balcony was his favorite spot to enjoy the view of the city from, but as always, he was quite lonely.

Kenshin just looked up at his master with concern. He knew that he was the boy's only source of family left in this world and would do anything for him, but sometimes, Shotaro's actions would surprise the otter Pokemon, especially when he is reminded of Team Pneuma. Ever since Kenshin could remember, his master despised Pneuma and would just snap at even the slightest mention.

"Kenshin, why does that girl, Marley keep trying to bug me?"

The Dewott, surprised at his master's sudden question, began to think about it. Marley was a gym leader of this region who wanted to help Shotaro, but he didn't want her help. Shotaro never trusted anyone else, except Kenshin.

Shotaro suddenly laughed, catching Kenshin in surprise. "Kenshin, you're the only one I can ever trust, I will do whatever that gothic girl says, but it doesn't' mean she will get anything from me." Halting his laughter, the boy ran a hand through his white hair, flipping the large tuft of hair that rested on his forehead. He clenched the gauntlets in his hands, "These will make those Peons cry for mercy and, _he _as well."

All Kenshin could do was watch his master. The blue otter knew that Shotaro was never like this, in fact, he used to be a warm and welcoming young boy, but this was what had become of him. Closing his eyes, Kenshin patiently waited for his young trainer to cool down from his laughter, before returning back to the house.

***End of Day 1***

* * *

**A/N: **Hey guys! Another long chapter, I apologize if it gets too long that it gets boring to read.

I wonder if you guys remember the five trainers who never really got much time to shine: Riley (aura guardian), Cheryl (Eterna Forest or Combee Honey), Mira (Wayward Cave), Buck (Stark Mountain), and Marley (Helping Shaymin). I made them into the gym leaders of the Kansai region. Anyways, the training has begun! For Chou, due to her "spouting out her emotions", I decided Cheryl should be her mentor. Riley chose Kurogasa because he has the potential to become an aura guardian. Kotei was picked by Buck because Kotei needs to grow a pair. Finally, Shotaro is being taught by Marley. Mira doesn't get a student, she can get Looker!

Chou, Kurogasa, and Shotaro will be the main focus of training the next chapter because Kotei gets too much read time.

I don't have much else to say anymore!

**OC Cast for Chapter 4: I also thank these guys for their awesome OC's as well!**

**Kurogasa Kururugi— By Fenikkusumaru  
Debut: Chapter 1 Contact**

**Chou Hayashi— By TPNO (ThePikachuNerdOriginal)*TPNO also rocks! You know why my friend!*  
Debut: Chapter 2 Concealed**

**Shotaro Daichi— By Tendou Souji  
Debut: Chapter 3 Confrontation**

Not much has happened yet, but don't fret! Next chapter should be less boring (if this one was horrendously dragging). I think new OC's will appear next chapter (hopefully…). I will most likely add more OC's after the Tetra fights. Other than that, hopefully, you enjoyed my chapter and are still liking my story!

Thanks to EVERYONE who has been reading and reviewing my story! I hope this one is as good as the previous chapters you all enjoyed as well (I personally did not like this, but I guess it was to continue the plot? Silly me, three days? Ugh!).

Please let me know what you liked and disliked about this one! Thanks!


	6. Conformation

Another chapter to the story! Day 2 of the Tetra Arc's training sessions for our yet-to-be heroes.

Thanks to** MyNoseAgreesWithMe** for their constant chapter title ideas, so I commend them. However; this time, the idea of "conformation" might be slightly different than what many of you will think of it as...

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon. Never have and never will (unless I get enough money to buy it, but that's never going to happen.)**

* * *

***Chapter 5 Conformation***

Denoval Medical Hospital, one of the largest facilities for treating the citizens of the city was located conveniently nearby the Pokemon Center. It was a large light-blue complex with windows on each floor, a walk-in entrance at the front, and the emergency entrance on the side of the rectangular hospital. Although the building was meant for the ill and injured, people crowded the lobbies waiting patiently for their appointment times or visiting loved ones at this time of 4:00 p.m.

Doctors, nurses, and staff alike were rushing around the area, helping those in line and answering questions to those who were impatiently aggravated. Due to the nature of the situation, people are regulated to stand in lines as a method of organization so that the staff may quickly get to each individual, albeit, rather slowly. Among those who stood in the formations, a lone Kurogasa's turn was up as the person in front of him was finishing with their affairs. Although he was patient and friendly with most people, the feeling of annoyance and impatience welled up within him, just like any other person.

Unbeknownst to most of his friends, the teen would visit the medical facility at least four times a week, especially on Mondays and always after school. The act has become a habit to him, but not one that is to be shameful about, rather, sacred and significant to his life. One factor that would tie into these visits would be that he never smiles in the hospital. Those who think that they know Kurogasa, would never understand the possibility of him frowning, even own family.

"Hello sir, what can I do for you?" The line had finally moved as Kurogasa took a step towards the counter and nurse who waited for his answer, impatiently.

"Here to see someone."

Clicking on her mouse, she typed in a few key strokes, "Name of yourself and patient, please." As the brown haired teenager replied, the nurse began to rapidly tap her touch screen pad and almost instantly gave him the consent. "Fifth floor, room 373." Reaching into her desk and pulling out the visitor's pass, she handed it over to him with a smile. "She must be really important to you, boy."

"Yeah," His reply was the same to every other comment he received during the countless times he had come by. There was nothing he desired from befriending the staff of the hospital, only their consent was necessary to reach his destination as fast as possible. "Thank you." Forcing a smile, he made his way down the crowded hallways to set of four elevators, luckily one of them was unused. Pushing the up button, the rolling of the wire cables could be heard from the other side, until the doors slid open and he stepped in, no one else with him.

The doors swung open on the fifth floor of the hospital and Kurogasa walked out, elevator closing behind. Sighing in relief, he turned left, before striding down the empty corridor passing rooms 368 to 371, finally reaching the end of the hallway and room number 373. Sunlight shined through the window to his left, curtains withdrawn and warm on his body, the brown haired boy turned the steel knob.

"Excuse me!"

Slamming into the nurse, all her paperwork slipped out and flew onto the ground, scattering all around. As she knelt down to pick them up, Kurogasa as well, leaned over and snatched up the straying papers nearby.

"Thank you," she said with a grateful smile. "Are you here to visit this person?"

Kurogasa nodded, "Yeah, she's very important to me."

"I see," Sending him a wink, the nurse gave him a pat and walked away while muttering to herself about young people. The teenager, confused as to what she was talking about, shrugged it off and walked sunlit room.

Large and bright, the patient's room had a bathroom near the entrance and a large flat screen T.V. in the right hand corner next to the window. A white covering curtain hung from the left hand corner, where the patient was resting and unbothered. Although the space appeared to be welcoming, the unbearable stench of the elderly and disinfectants lingered through the air. Slightly holding his breath, Kurogasa slowly treaded towards the white wall of cloth and gently pushed it aside.

Kneeling beside the white bed, Kurogasa grasped the limp hand of the young woman, who had tubes strewn all around her body. Her fingers felt like bones beneath the silky skin and only veins could be seen through them. Red side bangs fell to the bottom of her face, as bandages covered her eyes. A tube slowly moved as her breathing was supported by the cable which was connected to her nostrils. She appeared as if her body no longer was human, but rather an android with cords all equipped onto her, so she may continue to live.

"Mikoto…" Moving strands of hair from her open mouth, he sat there with his eyes closed. Guilt began to churn in his stomach as every time he looked at her, the memory of that day would hit him like a brick. "Why were we caught up in the stupid attack?" Concentrating on his thoughts, he attempted to perform Aura Search, an ability Riley had taught him that allows the user to locate the aura of living beings. Although Kurogasa hasn't perfected it, he had learned to glimpse the fragments of aura from the training. At first, there was only darkness, but as he focused harder, a small flame of blue appeared before him.

_You're still alive and strong_… Smiling under his breath, the teen opened his eyes and panted, beads of sweat running down his face. Using aura was no easy task, Riley had told him that it would take years to perfect it, but his potential innate ability had given him an easy start. Checking his Xtransceiver, Kurogasa realized that the aura guardian would be waiting for him.

He stood up and stared down at the lifeless body of the very woman he had loved, but could no longer see him, or even hear him for that matter. The horrible stench was long gone, but in its place left an aura of gloom that seemed to emanate from the girl. With a sigh, Kurogasa closed the covering and walked out, as hospitals gave him a very uncomfortable feeling.

* * *

Making his way up the rocky hill, sweat rolled down his face as the bright sun was heating him up like an oven. Kurogasa wiped away the wetness with his hands as he ascended the cliff, gripping the ledge and pulled himself over it, finally at the top. Patting his dirt-stained clothes, he looked up to see his mentor and Lucario waiting for him on top of a large boulder. Riley smiled down at him before jumping down to land right in front of the teenager, who jumped in surprise.

"Jeez Riley, you gave me a scare!" Kurogasa laughed. "Well, time for my training, right?"

The aura guardian nodded, "Good, now let out Riolu, so we may begin."

Reaching into his pockets, Kurogasa pulled out the Poke-Ball and tossed it up. Light flashed as Riolu appeared and gripped its fists as if it were ready to start a fight.

"Alright, let's begin with Aura Detection, shall we?" Riley gestured. "Like last time, your detection of objects and reflexes will be tested. If you can accomplish this task, then you will be fit for battle against the Tetra." With that, he and Lucario tied their blindfolds around the two students so that they may not see, then, they each picked up a stone. "Get ready."

All Kurogasa could see was darkness, but that was the advantage. As everything was dark, nothing but aura could be seen if he concentrated on it. Focusing on his surroundings, he did what Riley had taught him the day before. He may not know exactly what the guardian had meant when he told him to feel his environment, but trying as he hard as he could, there was presence of objects nearby. Locating a roundish object coming his way, the teenager ducked, but was surprised when it hit him on his back.

"What? How?" Confusion in his voice, another hard stone was thrust onto his side, causing him to grunt. "Dammit, maybe they aren't what I see them as?" Looking around, all he could see were outlines and shapes, but nothing seemed to be in a particular form. Perhaps they are the outlining of stones and boulders surrounding him? He heard Riolu cry out in pain this time and focused his detection ability towards the source of the cry. A blue flame lit up from his right. He ran over to feel his Pokemon and helped it up. "Come on buddy, we can do this."

Another sound was heard from behind, causing him to tilt his body to dodge, but the stone had hit him again. Frustrated, he gritted his teeth and tried to recall how he would detect Riley and Lucario. All he had learned at this moment was to find things that were non-moving and his mentor was definitely playing tricks on him by changing locations each time he would attempt to locate them. Grunting as another stone him on the cheek, he felt a wetness trickle down his face and placed his hand over it to feel a sting.

_Crap, I'm bleeding from that hit._

Trying once more, Kurogasa focused the aura around him as the outlines of rocks and boulders surrounded him once more, no blue flames, except for Riolu's. Strength sapping away, the outlines and flames started to fade away, but he had to concentrate even harder. Maybe if he stayed in this focus for a longer amount of time, then the guardian would show up? Clenching his fists, the teenager focused even harder, almost feeling light-headed, but he didn't stop. Just as he was at the brink of his last bit of energy, a figure of a man in blue flames appeared before him. The figure raised a hand, most likely about to throw another stone.

_That's it!_

With as much force as he could produce, Kurogasa detected the stone and stepped to the side, dodging it. Noticing the figure's sudden shock, he lunged at the surprised attacker and felt contact as he tackled the aura clad figure down, both crashing to the ground. He stripped off his blindfold while opening his eyes to see that he was on top of Riley, who nodded his head with a smile. Standing back up, the suited man wiped dust off from his clothing and gave Kurogasa a clap of satisfaction.

"Well done, Kurogasa. You seem to have gotten a hold of Aura Detection."

Smiling under his deep breaths, the teenager gave the guardian a thumbs up, "Of course, but that sure did take a lot out of me!" Falling down, he laid down on his back with hands outstretched. "Now, what else do we do?"

"For now, you have passed today's test. Tomorrow is the last day to train, so you should get some rest," Riley said while glancing over at his Lucario who had his hand over Riolu. "It seems as though your Riolu will need to focus on our training a little bit more, but is making progress."

"Sounds good, man I'm beat!" Sitting back up, Kurogasa stretched his arms and cracked his knuckles. Aura training had taken a lot out of him and the thought of using it as a battle technique was quite daunting. "Can aura detect anything?"

Riley nodded, "Yes, only things that are alive though. Although rocks aren't considered alive, they aren't dead, so they are visible as outlines in sensing aura."

"I see," Recalling Mikoto's condition, he was glad that she was alive, but still uneasy about that fact that she had been in the coma for years. "Well, thanks for the lesson, Riley. I guess tomorrow's really the last day for us to toughen up before we fight those weirdos, right?"

"Yes," Grave and uncertain, the aura guardian's tone wasn't one that would encourage people before a big fight, but his mentee seemed unfazed by the air of impending doom that was upon them.

Scratching his chin, Kurogasa asked one more question, "About these Tetra guys, how powerful are they? And do you know anything about them?"

"Honestly, I've only just learned about them, but a few of those trainers that Looker had mentioned are indeed powerful," Riley said as Lucario and Riolu returned to their respective trainers. "Paul, one of the Tetra, was a well known Pokemon trainer. He was quite skilled in battle and his Pokemon were difficult to overcome. Only a select few trainers were strong enough to beat him, such as the Champion Cynthia and _him._"

"Him?"

The aura master took a deep breath, "His name was Ash Ketchum and a personal friend of mine. He was the one who declined my offer to take the path of the aura." Eyes narrowing, Riley seemed as if he didn't want to continue, but still went on, "I...I can't sense his aura anymore."

"Then, does that mean..." Kurogasa started.

"He's most likely dead," Riley finished. "And I know who was the likely candidate for his death. Team Pneuma, of course." Returning his Lucario back into its Poke-Ball, the aura guardian gave his student a pat on the back. "You should get going, I'll see tomorrow." With a small salute, the gym leader jumped from the edge of the cliff and disappeared beneath the rustle of leaves, leaving Kurogasa to stand there, deep in thought.

* * *

***Shotaro***

"Dew!"

Leaping to the left, Arcanine's Flamethrower missed by an inch and Kenshin countered with a high pressure Hydro Pump. On Marley's command, the large dog bounced up, the otter Pokemon staring in disbelief as Arcanine gained speed and rammed into Kenshin with a powerful Extremspeed. The Dewott flew back, landing on the hard dirt of the dense forest and in front of Shotaro, its master.

"Not bad," With a smirk, the white haired lad directed a finger, "Kenshin, Swords Dance!"

Getting back up, the Dewott released a number spiraling blades around it, strengthening its power. "Go! Razor Shell!" Dashing forward, Kenshin grabbed two blades as they formed into shining shells and Arcanine embraced for the attack.

"Thunder Fang," At the Goth's order, Arcanine's fangs emitted sparks before lunging at the oncoming Pokemon. Just as Kenshin entered the dog's area of attack, it flipped forward, soared above the latter's back and sliced through, causing it roar in anger.

"It's almost down, go in for the kill!" Shotaro ordered as the water Pokemon's smaller size gave it the advantage. Dodging the fangs once more, Kenshin sliced Arcanine's right flank, while turning around for another strike. However; realizing its plan, the canine leaped back, Kenshin staggering forward before being squealing in pain as electricity bit into its fur.

Shotaro, unable to do anything at the moment, watched as Kenshin was bitten down harder, until the otter Pokemon could no longer move. Throwing the limp Pokemon back to Shotaro, Arcanine returned to Marley, who stared at her mentee, but said nothing. She was a woman who said little and preferred not to brag about victories as there was no point in them.

"Well, I guess you won," Grinned the white haired boy, but stopped as his mentor only stared with absent expression. "Something the matter?"

"You've got a lot on your mind," she said. "You're not telling me something."

Returning her gaze, the boy just smiled at her. To him, she was just someone who got in his way and he wanted more than anything to have her leave his presence, but that wouldn't happen anytime soon, which Shotaro knew. What did she know about him?

"I guess, today's session is over, right?" Attempting to change the subject, he helped Kenshin get up and grabbed his bag from the ground.

"Not quite," Her blue eyes did not leave his own, in fact, it appeared as if she was gazing through them and into his mind.

Shotaro waved his hands, "Oh, come on, Marley. I'm beat, and my parents are waiting for me." His eyes began to twitch at her continuous stare, something about them was very uncomfortable to the boy, almost invading.

"No," Marley said with an ominous tone. "You're not going to your parents." Even as she said this, her eyes never shifted from the boy's.

"Miss, my parents would not like it if you kept me from returning home."

Narrowing his eyes, the air around the boy seemed to change, and Marley noticed this as well. She began to slowly walk towards him, her eyes never leaving his and with each step, Shotaro's heart began to pound even faster. What is this woman thinking? Had she seen through him? The boy's smile, began to curve down and he noticed Marley's sudden halt at this action, but her feet never stopped moving. Soon, she was right in front of him.

"What do you want, bitch? I just want to go home! I want to go back to my mom and dad!" His breathing had turned into large huffs, as his chest heaved and his hands shaking at.

Looking up, he froze. The woman's eyes could no longer be seen, only a shadow covered over her face and her black hair made it worse. Sweating, the boy hadn't realized that he had lost his cool, the woman would see through him, she would see into him. Quickly halting his breaths, he smiled up at her, attempting to cover up his outburst.

"I'm sorry, but I didn't mean to—," His words were cut off as arms surrounded his body and he was pulled up close against the gym leader. No longer able to control his breathing, the boy began to inhale and exhale rapidly in short gasps. He shook his head, telling her to stop, telling her no, but she would not let go. Grabbing her arms, he tried pushing her away, but his strength was oddly weak against her embrace, almost as if it were sapped or…he couldn't bring himself to do it. "Damn you, woman."

Struggling with all his might, he pulled free of her grasp and glared at her. He had never shown another living being besides Kenshin, this side of himself or rather, they did not live to tell the tale. Panting with sweat all over him, he noticed that she still had her gaze on him and it was excruciatingly painful to him. She had tried to get him to open up to her, that was her true motive this whole time, and she had almost succeeded, but fortunately, he managed to escape from her consoling embrace. Shotaro's eyes widened in surprise as she spoke to him.

"Your darkness, pain, and past should not be yours alone to bear. You're just a poor child who lost his family."

Shaking uncontrollably, the boy could not bear to hear another ounce of her words, she disgusted him. She was the just like the rest of the world and Team Pneuma, they did not care about anyone. All the people in the world just wanted to get inside of his head so that they can trick him, so they can manipulate him to cause further harm. Like Team Pneuma did years ago, many years ago to his parents. Marley's eyes narrowed as Shotaro's lips formed a straight line, one that was neither anger nor joy, something terrible in between.

"You're just like Team Pneuma and the world, you don't care about me or anyone else. All you want is to kill, and that will go unpunished," Shotaro smiled. "The best way to go about life is to trust yourself, and only yourself."

Kenshin looked at his master with pain, Marley had opened up his true face and she would regret it. He looked over to her and was surprised to see that the woman still remained calm, almost lifeless. Hearing his master call out to him, the Dewott looked back at the mentor, before following him out of the grass plains, away from Marley. Although Kenshin obeyed and trusted Shotaro with his life, there was a glint that maybe, just maybe, Marley could finally change the ways of his master after all these years.

Watching, as the boy leaves, Marley sighed in disappointment. Efforts to get her student to open up to her would be tough, especially with a boy like that. Although, she was surprised that he loosened up when she hugged him, giving her a sign that she may have gotten through to him a little bit, but not enough to have him say something she wanted to hear.

_This one will be tough_, she thought to herself as Arcanine nudged her, signaling that it was time to return home. Stroking the dog's soft fur, the woman turned around and made her way back. A beautiful day has gone to waste, as the sun may have been up high and bright, but the people below its shining light, did not appreciate its radiance. They were ungrateful.

* * *

***Chou***

Hiding behind a large tree, Chou stood without moving a muscle. Any sound she made, would give up her and Meme's positions. She looked up to see her Butterfree was doing the same as it was perched onto one of the branches covered in leaves. The brunette smiled at her Pokemon as their plan was set and ready to be initiated at the instant the opponent comes near.

She perked up as footsteps could be heard from behind the tree, signaling them that the enemy was nearby. Giving Meme a nod, she raised three fingers and folded each one slowly. At the end of the countdown, they would jump out and launch the stored Solarbeam that Meme had charged up. As soon as the last finger went down, both quickly emerged from their hiding positions.

"Meme, Solarbeam!" However; she gasped as no one was there and the Butterfree had already gathered the light energy, ready to release. "Meme, no!" Before she could reach her Pokemon, it fired an enormous beam at the empty field, destroying the tall grass on the way. Quickly realizing that they have given up their positions, Chou turned around, just in time to be knocked away by a powerful Silver Wind.

"Vreeh!" Meme saw her trainer fly by, but detected the next attack and flew up, a Supersonic attack passing below. Turning back around, the Mothim lunged forward, slamming into Meme, but she wasn't fazed at all. Wing powder fell as the two bug Pokemon danced in combat.

"Put the pressure on!" Cheryl wouldn't hold back on the girl or her Pokemon, time was at stake here and they needed to improve the amateur's battle style as fast as they could. "Air Slash!" The moth maneuvered away and sent forth a blade of concentrated air from its wings.

Gaining speed, the attack made a whirling sound as it traveled towards the butterfly, which in turn, flapped away from harm, but heard more as the moth launched multiple air projectiles. Wings thrusting out, Meme launched herself higher up, air blades passing by, nearly cutting off her antenna. After evading a few more, she turned around and flew straight at Mothim, producing orbs of darkness.

"Go!" Mothim performed an aerial dodge as Shadow Balls were fired rapidly from above. Closing in on Meme, the moth spun left while throwing an Air Slash to her right, hitting the target spot on from their right flank and causing it to crash down towards the ground.

"No!" Running towards her Pokemon, the brunette leaped just in time to catch Meme, but cause pain to herself as she landed hard on the grass. "Ow…" Bruised all over her body, she tried standing up, as the butterfly flapped its wings once more and rose into the air. "We can do this, we've come this far and we can't go back, now." Nodding in agreement, the Butterfree raced towards its opponent with haste, Chou running close behind.

"Remember! The trainer is also the target as well! If the trainer goes down, the Pokemon will too!" Cheryl exclaimed. "Now, let's see what you can do! Mothim, Air Slash!" Wings expanded, the moth launched air blades once more, this time, aiming at both the oncoming opponents.

Meme fired multiple dark orbs to take out the incoming attacks, protecting Chou, but the assaults was relentless as more were about to come. Her trainer confirmed with a ragged cough, which gave the Butterfree some concern. Chou shook her head, signaling that she was okay for now and that the battle was to be the focus. However; the girl was beginning to wonder what she could do to help her friend. She didn't have no SPP gloves or something like that, except for…

_Pins!_

Reaching into her large pockets, the brunette grabbed a handful of Pokemon Should Be Free pins. Cheryl frowned in curiosity at her mentee's strange behavior, that girl was up to something, but what could be? Chou looked up to see Meme and Mothim were exchanging blows, blades of air and orbs of darkness impacting each other. Running up close, she had to distract the Pokemon so that Meme would connect one of her attacks.

Okay! Raising her fistful of pins, she threw them as hard as she could at the moth Pokemon. At that instant, the pins soared through the air and rained down on it, giving Meme a chance to launch her Shadow Ball.

"What the?" the green haired trainer was confused as her opponent was throwing round objects at her Pokemon. She gasped as Mothim was blasted onto the ground before running over to see if it was alright, but just as she made her way towards it, Meme and Chou blocked her path.

"So Cheryl, how'd we do?" Chou asked, bruises and cuts covered her cheeks.

At first, the gym leader was wide-eyed and in shock, but her mouth closed to form a smile of satisfaction. "You did well, you actually defeated me."

Gasping in excitement, Chou and Meme embraced each other before dancing around in a circle. They couldn't believe that they had won, and against a gym leader to boot. Cheryl knelt down beside her fainted Pokemon and complimented it before returning it back to its Poke-Ball. Standing back up, the gym leader was quite proud to see that her student had surpassed her in a battle, albeit with strange tactics, but were enough to deserve victory.

"Chou, I guess your training is complete. You have defeated me and learned to control your emotions, although just a little.

Chou smiled as wide as she could, "Oh my gosh! We won! But, what happens after this?"

"Well, we might want to know if the others are—," Cheryl stopped as the girl before her began to cough, just like the first time they had trained. Kneeling beside her, the gym leader patted her on the back. "Have you taken your meds today?"

Chou shook her head, "I forgot to…before school, I should get going…" Forcing herself to stand up, the brunette adjusted her large framed glasses and beckoned Meme to come with. Thanking Cheryl for her training, the girl cleared her throat as she made her way back home.

"Meme, wait for me out back…" Taking in a deep breath, Chou's Pokemon chirped as it flew back in the yard to wait for her trainer to take her medication. Although the Butterfree sensed an air of foreboding, she listened to her friend.

Doors were slammed open as the brunette walked in. She adjusted her glasses while striding over to her room. The door was covered in many fliers and stick-on objects that portrayed her passion for Pokemon freedom. Coughing while entering her room, Chou removed her book bag and gently hung it onto one of the hooks on the door.

Despite the fact that she is deemed the weirdo at her school, Chou's room was as normal as can be. Posters laid over the walls, a wooden desk housed her touch screen PC, and the bed was made of comforters and sheets patterned with Metapods. With a sigh, she went over to her cabinet mirror and looked at her reflection.

Pale faced and a pretty smile was what she saw staring back at her, although the freckles between her nose and mouth were quite visible, she didn't notice them. However; that face began to contort, her hands went over her mouth as she began to wheeze and cough. Lotions and various hygiene items crashed down around her as she fell, her body jerking as if she was being electrocuted. Water welled up from her eyes and trickled down her cheeks, her hands now covered in blood as the coughing reached dangerous levels.

_My…meds…_

Lifting her shaking arms onto the counter top, she raised her limp body onto it, coughing up more blood in the process. The wheezing had begun to sound as if something was clogged up and the stinging pain of the throat was excruciating, to the point of her crying, but her voice came out like an animals. Standing up, she looked at her face, no longer human-like. Red and bloodshot, the eyes were almost about to pop and blood drooling from the corners of her mouth. Barely opening her cabinet, she knocked off all other bottles and pulled out the prescription medications.

Gripping the secured lid, she pushed down and turned it as hard as she could, but her illness had completely sapped her strength. Screaming, she tried harder and harder, the lid still unwilling to budge. At that instant, her body fell over, dropping the vial of pills as it rolled under her bed. On the ground, and gurgling blood, she could no longer feel the pain, only the thickness of her lungs as they couldn't filter anymore oxygen.

_This…is it…huh? Why didn't I take them before I left? Everyone…Meme…_

Visions blurring, as the sunlight from the windows started to warp and swirl, Chou began to close her eyes. Darkness from the edges of seeing, closed in as if it were a vortex, ready to swallow her whole and…nothing.

* * *

***Operation: Olivine***

Explosions and the sounds of screaming were heard throughout the seaport city of Olivine, as four figures quickly, but stealthily made their way towards the lighthouse tower, otherwise known as the Glitter Lighthouse. The four people were clad in chrome colored armor and their insignia of PN immediately identified them as Peons of Team Pneuma. Their Pokemon followed them without questions as being captured by the silver balls made exclusively by Pneuma would ultimately force the Pokemon to obey.

The sky seemed blood-red as the flames from the attacks emanated everywhere, destroying buildings and ships at the docks as well. Bodies of Peons, Pokemon, and civilians alike, littered the streets of the city. Sparks of fire flew out from everywhere, igniting even more dangerously as they landed on electric cables to cause greater explosions. Sailors with their Wingulls and Machops, as well as the local police force tried their best to halt the Pneuma invasion, but the overwhelming power of the SPP gloves would instantly overcome their ancient ways of battle. Running up the steps, the four Peons encountered two policemen and their Growlithe.

"Well, let's get rid of them," Jeered one of the Peons as he hurled a large blob of gunk from the extracted Koffing's Sludge Bomb. The others did the same, using their own extracted abilities and launched multiple attacks.

"We won't let you, Flamethrower!" At the police's command, the small dog breathed a large wave of fire, melting the Sludge Bomb and halting the other assaults. "Now get em'!" The Growlithe lunged forward at the nearest Peon, shooting balls of fire from its Ember attack, and knocking him back, but another Peon attacks with Water Gun, sending the dog flying. "No!" Before they could finish, the policemen were knocked off their feet and were slammed into the rock hard wall of the lighthouse, grunting before their final moments.

All four Peons pushed through the doors and made their way up the spiral staircase. Encountering more securities, the Pneuma members continued their assaults of Sludge Bombs and Water Guns, knocking away the opposing forces.

"Having fun, Analisa?" A Peon smiled underneath his mask. One of members, a female nodded in response. She had an Emolga on her shoulders and was the only female of the group, but was befriended only to one of them, as the others treated her like trash.

"She hasn't been doing shit during this operation," Snickered a Peon. "Why'd we have to bring her?"

"Hey, hey, hey. She's new and she needs a feel for what the job is like, you know?" The previous male said.

"Hmph, you're just being nice to her because she's your whore!" Both the others laughed at the insult, causing the female Peon by the name of Analisa to tilt her head down. "Isn't that right, Anthony?"

Although Anthony wanted nothing more than to knock these guys off of the platform to their deaths, he couldn't do that or else he and Analisa both, would be in trouble. Ever since Analisa's integration into the ranks of Pneuma, she has always been the shy and non-social member who would be taken advantage of by everyone. Anthony was the first and only friend to her, helping her out and teaching her the ways of Pneuma. After some time, she opened up to him and he learned that she wasn't some awkward shy girl, she was actually friendly and quite humorous as well, but the jerks at HQ wouldn't even give her a chance. Maybe she shouldn't have signed up for Pneuma, it isn't her type of thing, and Anthony more than anyone else, knew that.

"We've finally made it!" A Peon said. Turning to the other members, he signaled for them to take out the colored lenses. With the change of colors, activating the guidance light would allow Pneuma ships and aircraft to locate them for evacuation. Pulling out a large bluish film strip, he placed it over the large light bulb, fully covering it. "Marco, Anthony, Analisa, turn it on now!" All pushing on the large gear-like switch, chains began to move as the device spun until the lamp began to flicker and finally flash on.

"Good work Analisa, you did great," Anthony patted the newbie's helmet, causing her look up at him in joy. "I think you're the best out of all of us."

"Um...thank you Anthony, you were...great too..." she muttered under her mask, but gasped as the sounds of footsteps could be heard from below, the remaining police forces have located them. Running over to the doors, Marco and the other Peon locked it, but it would be a matter of time before they would break through to kill them.

"Grr, what's taking them so long?" Marco complained as he moved the light into the air. "We'll be Team Toast if they don't come quickly!"

"Then we fight!" said the unnamed Peon. "Once they bust through, we'll surprise them with our attacks and..." Suddenly, the door was blasted open with a powerful smash, hitting the Peon along with it. The sounds of bones crushing were heard as he was rammed against the stone wall, before falling to the ground, unmoving, Analisa screamed.

Battered and covered in blood, a young woman in a white dress stood with her giant Steelix beside her. Gym leader of Olivine City, Jasmine, the steel princess herself, had come to deal with them. Directing a finger at the three Peons, Steelix slid at them with its tail glowing, Iron Tail at the ready. However; the Peons wouldn't give up without a fight. Anthony extracted from his Magmar and both fired devastating Flamethrowers at the iron snake Pokemon, causing it to roar in pain at its weakness to Fire-type moves.

"They're here!" Marco screeched as a large black helicopter hovered before them. He made his way onto the aircraft, jumping in and yelling at the other two to hurry up, but Anthony was still locked in combat with Jasmine as she covered her fire weakness with Sparkle, her Ampharos. Crying out, the yellow Pokemon released a bolt of electricity, Magmar and Anthony countered with Flamethrowers, creating a large explosion.

"Come on!" Grabbing Analisa's hand, they sped towards the chopper. Pushing her into the flying vehicle, he made his way to jump in when a Thunderbolt slammed against the helicopter, causing it to shake. "Shit!" Turning around, Jasmine had recovered from the explosion and commanded Sparkle to strike once more.

"Anthony!" The girl watched in terror as the man turned back to face the gym leader. "What are you doing?"

He gave her a thumbs up, "Teammates always protect each other, right?" Her eyes widened underneath her mask, as Anthony raised his SPP gloves at Jasmine, a look of annoyance on her face. "This is for my honor of Team Pneuma! Explosion!" As soon as he yelled the command, light flooded the entire lighthouse, almost blinding Analisa, but she didn't care. Her hands tried to reach out to the light, tears streamed down her cheeks, she wanted to die with Anthony, her only friend.

"It's too dangerous, retreat!" Steering the helicopter in the other direction, the pilot flew the aircraft towards the sea.

"Anthony!"

"Shut up, whore!" Marco punched her in the face, knocking her out. "Sheesh, it's just one dude, we have many at the base, I can't understand how Anthony was even that special to you."

As the black chopper flew over the ocean, the lighthouse crumbled into nothingness, along with the buildings and everything that was once the seaport city. The screaming had died down, no one was left alive in that city anymore, it was utterly destroyed and all life with it. Surely, the Johto News would broadcast the nature of Pneuma's treachery to the whole world, but it wouldn't matter, no one was strong enough to go against Pneuma. Not even the Elite Fours and Champions of all the regions can, as demonstrated by the Indigo Plateau's demise, there is no hope left for the world anymore.

***End of Day 2***

* * *

A/N: My latest chapter! Sorry it took so long (Tendou Souji especially), but I managed to get it done. I was very busy during these past days, so I couldn't really find the time to write. Anyways, i can't really say anything much about the chapter, other than I just finished it and as promised, new OC's and less of Kotei until the next chapter (actually no Kotei at all this chapter!). Also, yeah, this one was quite dark. I hadn't expected it to get THIS dark, but I hope it's for the best as character development, hope I didn't scare any of you.

**OC Cast for Chapter 5:**

**Kurogasa Kururugi— By Fenikkusumaru**

**Debut: Chapter 1 Contact**

**Chou Hayashi— By TPNO (ThePikachuNerdOriginal)**

**Debut: Chapter 2 Concealed**

**Shotaro Daichi— By Tendou Souji**

**Debut: Chapter 3 Confrontation**

**Mikoto Kazehana— By Fenikkusumaru**

**Debut: Chapter 5 Conformation**

**Analisa Clarke— By dumbrunette1234**

**Debut: Chapter 5 Confrontation**

I still have more OC's to put in, so please wait!

I've recently had in mind the idea of doing review questions where you decide what would be your favorite (something). So, I don't know if I'm doing this right, but here goes:

**Which Pokemon move would you like to see, used in SPP? (Please leave your answer in the review, so others can see as well!)**

**Aristomacho: Mine would be...Moomoo Milk, I would just laugh at how someone would do that!**

Thanks for reading! Please review and hope to see you next time!


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